^ 


THE  MASTER  KEY 


Rob  was  surrounded  by  a  group  of  natives 


THE 
MASTER  KEY 

An  Electrical  Fairy  Tale 

FOUNDED  UPON  THE  MYSTERIES  OF  ELECTRICITY 
AND  THE  OPTIMISM  OF  ITS  DEVOTEES.  IT  WAS 
WRITTEN  FOR  BOYS,  BUT  OTHERS  MAY  READ  IT 


BY 

L.  FRANK  BAUM 


ILLUSTRATIONS  BY 
F.  Y.  CORY 


Me  BOWEN-MERRILL  COMPANY 
PUBLISHERS  •  INDIANAPOLIS 


COPYRIGHT  1901 
THE  BOWBN-MERRIW,  COMPANY 


GIFT 


PRESS  OF 

BRAUN  WORTH  &  CO. 

BOOKBINDERS  AND  PRINTERS 

BROOKLYN,  N.  Y. 


- 


A9P 


151*1 

M/V 


To  my  son 
ROBERT  STANTON  BAUM 


RI854174 


CONTENTS 

Chapter 

I  Rob's  Workshop 

II  The  Demon  of  Electricity 

III  The  Three  Gifts 

IV  Testing  the  Instruments 
V  The  Cannibal  Island 

VI  The  Buccaneers 

VII  The  Demon  Becomes  Angry 

VIII  Rob  Acquires  New  Powers 

IX  The  Second  Journey 


Page 
I 

9 
18 
29 

43 
60 
78 
86 
97 


C  O  N  T E  N  TS 


Chapter 

Pag* 

X 

How  Rob  Served  a  Mighty  King 

104 

XI 

The  Man  of  Science 

126 

XII 

How  Rob  Saved  a  Republic 

13^ 

XIII 

Rob  Loses  His  Treasures 

146 

XIV 

Turk  and  Tatar 

1  60 

XV 

A  Battle  With  Monsters 

182 

XVI 

Shipwrecked  Mariners 

192 

XVII 

The  Coast  of  Oregon 

206 

XVIII 

A  Narrow  Escape 

214 

XIX 

Rob  Makes  a  Resolution 

225 

XX 

The  Unhappy  Fate  of  the  Demon 

230 

ILLUSTRATIONS 


Rob  was  surrounded    by  a  group   of    natives  of 
hideous  appearance — Frontispiece 

From  his  workshop  ran  network  of  wires  through 
out  the  house — Headpiece 

A  quick  flash  of  light  almost  blinded   Rob 

A  curious  being  looked  upon  him  from  a  magnifi 
cent  radiance — Tailpiece 

Scientific  men  think  the  people  of  Mars  have  been 
trying  to  signal  us — Headpiece 

I  am  here  to  do  your  bidding,  said  the  Demon 
— Tailpiece 

Men  have  not  yet  discovered  what  the  birds  know 
— Headpiece 


Page 


17 
18 


/  L  L  U  8  T  R  A  T  I  O  V  S 

Page 
These  three  gifts  may  arnuse  you  for  the  next  week 

—  Tailpiece  28 

Rob's  action  surprised  them  all — Pleadpiecc  29 

"He'll    break    his    neck!"    cried    the    astounded 

father  36 

The  red-whiskered  policeman  keeled  over 

—  Tailpiece  42 

Rob's  captors  caught  up  the  end  of  the  rope  and 

led  him  away — Headpiece  43 

"If  it's  just  the  same  to  you,  old  chap,  I  won't  be 

eaten  to-day"  —  Tailpiece  59 

Rob  soared  through  the  air  with   five  Buccaneers 

dangling  from  his  leg — Headpiece  60 

It  was   a   strange   sight  to  see  the  pirates  drop  to 

the  deck  and  lie  motionless  66 

When  night  fell  his  slumber  was  broken  and  un- 

e  a  sy —  Ta  Up  iece  7  7 

When  Rob  had  been  kissed  by  his  mother,  he  gave 

an  account  of  his  adventures — Headpiece  jj 

Rob  sat  staring  eagerly  at  the  Demon — Tailpiece       85 

The  Being  drew  from  an  inner  pocket  something 

resembling  a  box — Headpiece  86 

These   spectacles    will    indicate   the    character  of 

every  one  you  meet — Tailpiece  96 


I L  L  US  TR  A  TV  O  NS 

Page 
Rob   is  in   truth   a  typical   American  boy 

— Headpiece  0,7 

Rob  placed  the  indicator  to  a  point  north  of  east 

and  began  his  journey — Tailpiece  103 

A   crowd    assembled,   all    shouting  and    pointing 

toward  him  in  wonder — Headpiece  104 

A  man  rushed  toward  it,  but  the  next  moment  he 

threw  up  his  hands  and  fell  unconscious  108 

Rob  reached  the  entrance  of  the  palace,  only  to 

face  another  group  of  guardsmen  1 14 

Rob  only  smiled  in  an  amused  way  as  he  marched 

past  them — Tailpiece  125 

A   tremendous    din    and   clatter    nearly   deafened 

him — Headp  iece  126 

The  eyes  of  the  Frenchman  were  actually  pro 
truding  from  their  sockets  128 

From  an  elevation  of  fifty  feet  or  more  Rob  over 
looked  a  pretty  garden — Headpiece  136 

Placing  the  record  so  that  the  President  could  see 
clearly,  Rob  watched  the  changing  expres 
sions  upon  the  great  man's  face  140 

Rob  experienced  a  decided  sense  of  relief  as  he 

mixed  with  the  gay  populace — Tailpiece  145 

Beneath  him  stretched  a  vast  sandy  plain,  and 
speeding  across  this  he  came  to  a  land 
abounding  in  vegetation — 'Headpiece  146 


ILL  US TR  A  T I  O  NS 

Page 
"  Those  fellows  seem  to  be  looking  for  trouble*"        150 

Uttering    cries   of    terror  and    dismay,    the    three 

Turks  took  to  their  heels  158 

Rob  was  miserable   and  unhappy,  and   remained 

brooding  over  his  cruel  fate — Tailpiece  159 

The  Tatars  arrived  swiftly  and  noiselessly 

— Headpiece  .  160 

The  Turk  rose  slowly  into  the  air,  with  Rob  cling 
ing  to  him  with  desperate  tenacity  176 

Without   more    ado    Rob   mounted    into    the    air, 

leaving  the  Turk  staring  after  him — Tailpiece      181 

Coming  toward  him  was   an  immense  bird 

— Plea  dp  iece  1 8  6 

With  one  last  scream  the  creature  tumbled  down 
ward  to  join  its  fellow — Tailpiece  191 

During  the  next  few  hours  Rob  suffered  from  a 

severe  attack  of  homesickness — Headpiece          192 

The  disappointment  of  the  sailors  was  something 

awful  to  witness  196 

As  they   slowly  mounted   into  the  sky  the  sailor 

gave  a  squeal  of  terror — Tailpiece  205 

Rob  mounted  skyward,  to  the  unbounded  amaze 
ment  of  the  fishermen,  who  stared  after  him 
—Headpiece  2p6 


ILL  US TRA  TI O  NS 


Page 


Rob  hovered  over  the  great  tower  cf  the  Lick 
Observatory  until  he  attracted  the  excited 
gaze  of  its  inhabitants — Tailpiece 

Finding  himself  upon  the  lake  front,  Rob  hunted 
up  a  vacant  bench  and  sat  clown  to  rest 
— Headp  iece 

As  he  started  downward  he  saw  the  old  gentleman 
looking  at  him  with  a  half-frightened,  half- 
curious  expression — Tailpiece 

At  precisely  ten  o'clock  Rob  reached  the  front 
door  of  his  own  house — Headpiece 

Rob  boldly  ascended  the  stairs,  entered  the  work 
shop  and  closed  and  locked  the  door — Tail 
piece 

The  Demon  sank  into  a  chair  nerveless  and  limp, 
but  still  staring  fearfully  at  the  boy — Head 
piece 

A  flash  of  white  light  half-stunned  and  blinded 
Rob.  When  he  recovered  himself  the  De 
mon  had  disappeared — Tail Apiece 


21 


214 


224 


22: 


229 


230 


245 


WHO  KNOWS? 

These  things  are  quite  improbable,  to  be 
sure;  but  are  they  impossible? 

Our  big  world  rolls  over  as  smoothly  as 
It  did  centuries  ago,  without  a  squeak  to 
show  it  needs  oiling  after  all  these  years  of 
revolution.  But  times  change  because  men 
change,  and  because  civilization,  like  John 
Brown's  soul,  goes  ever  marching  on. 

The  impossibilities  of  yesterday  become 
the  accepted  facts  of  to-day. 

Here  is  a  fairy  tale  founded  upon  the 
wonders  of  electricity  and  written  for  chil 
dren  of  this  generation.  Yet  when  my 
readers  shall  have  become  men  and  women 
my  story  may  not  seem  to  their  children 
like  a  fairy  tale  at  all. 

Perhaps  one,  perhaps  two — perhaps  sev 
eral  of  the  Demon's  devices  will  be,  by  that 
time,  in  popular  use. 

Who  knows? 


"/#  wonder  all  philosophy  began;  in 

wonder  it  all  ends ;  and  admiration 

fills  up  the  interspace.     But  the  first 

wonder  is  the  offspring  of  ignorance  : 

the  last  is  the  parent  of  adoration' 

— COLERIDGE. 


THE   MASTER    KEY 
CHAPTER    ONE 

ROB'S    WORKSHOP 

WHEN  Rob  became  interested  in  elec 
tricity  his  clear-headed  father  con 
sidered  the  boy's  fancy  to  be  instructive  as 
well  as  amusing ;  so  he  heartily  encouraged 
his  son,  and  Rob  never  lacked  batteries, 
motors  or  supplies  of  any  sort  that  his  ex 
periments  might  require. 

He  fitted  up  the  little  back  room  in  the 
attic  as  his  workshop,  and  from  thence  a 
net-work  of  wires  soon  ran  throughout  the 
house,  Not  only  had  every  outside  door  its 

I 


THE  MA  S  TER  KE 1 


electric  bell,  but  every  window  was  fitted 
with  a  burglar  alarm;  moreover  no  one  could 
cross  the  threshold  of  any  interior  room  with 
out  registering  the  fact  in  Rob's  workshop. 
The  gas  was  lighted  by  an  electric  fob;  a 
chime,  connected  with  an  erratic  clock  in  the 
boy's  room,  woke  the  servants  at  all  hours 
of  the  night  and  caused  the  cook  to  give 
warning;  a  bell  rang  whenever  the  postman 
dropped  a  letter  into  the  box;  there  were 
bells,  bells,  bells  everywhere,  ringing  at  the 
right  time,  the  wrong  time  and  all  the  time. 
And  there  were  telephones  in  the  different 
rooms,  too,  through  which  Rob  could  call 
up  the  different  members  of  the  family  just 
when  they  did  not  wish  to  be  disturbed. 

His  mother  and  sisters  soon  came  to  vote 
the  boy's  scientific  craze  a  nuisance;  but 
his  father  was  delighted  with  these  evi 
dences  of  Rob's  skill  as  an  electrician,  and 
insisted  that  he  be  allowed  perfect  freedom 
in  carrying  out  his  ideas. 

"  Electricity,"  said  the  old  gentleman, 
3 


S    WORKSHOP 


sagely,  fci  is  destined  tu  become  the  motive 
power  of  the  world.  The  future  advance 
of  civilization  will  be  alon^  electrical  lines. 

O 

Our  boy  may  become  a  great  inventor  and 
astonish  the  world  with  his  wonderful  cre 
ations." 

"And  in  the  meantime,"  said  the  mother, 
despairingly,  "  we  shall  all  be  electrocuted, 
or  the  house  burned  down  by  crossed  wires, 
or  we  shall  be  blown  into  eternity  by  an 
explosion  of  chemicals!" 

"  Nonsense  !"  ejaculated  the  proud 
father.  "  Rob's  storage  batteries  are  not 
powerful  enough  to  electrocute  one  or  set 
the  house  on  fire.  Do  give  the  boy  a 
chance,  Belinda." 

"And  his  pranks  are  so  humiliating," 
continued  the  ladv.  "  When  the  minister 
called  yesterday  and  rang  the  bell  a  big 
card  appeared  on  the  front  door  on  which 
was  printed  the  words  :  'Busy;  Call  Again.' 
Fortunately  Helen  saw  him  and  let  him  in, 
but  when  I  reproved  Robert  for  the  act  he 

3 


THE  AT  ASTER  KEY 

said  he  was  just  trying  the  sign  to  see  if  it 
would  work." 

u  Exactly!  The  boy  is  an  inventor  al 
ready.  I  shall  have  one  of  those  cards  at 
tached  to  the  door  of  my  private  office  at 
once.  I  tell  you,  Belinda,  our  son  will  be 
a  great  man  one  of  these  days,"  said  Mr. 
Joslyn,  walking  up  and  down  with  pom 
pous  strides  and  almost  bursting  with  the 
pride  he  took  in  his  young  hopeful. 

Mrs.  Joslyn  sighed.  She  knew  remon 
strance  was  useless  so  long  as  her  husband 
encouraged  the  boy,  and  that  she  would  be 
wise  to  bear  her  cross  with  fortitude. 

Rob  also  knew  his  mother's  protests 
would  be  of  no  avail;  so  he  continued  to 
revel  in  electrical  processes  of  all  sorts,  using 
the  house  as  an  experimental  station  to  test 
the  powers  of  his  productions. 

It  was  in  his  own  room,  however, — his 
"  workshop  " — that  he  especially  delighted. 
For  not.  only  was  it  the  center  of  all  his 
numerous  "  lines  "  throughout  the  house, 

4 


7?<9/?\9    WORKSHOP 

but  he  had  rigged  up  therein  a  wonderful 
array  of  devices  for  his  own  amusement. 
A  trolley-car  moved  around  a  circular  track 
and  stopped  regularly  at  all  stations;  an  en 
gine  and  train  of  cars  moved  jerkily  up  and 
down  a  steep  grade  and  through  a  tunnel; 
a  windmill  was  busily  pumping  water  from 
the  dishpan  into  the  copper  skillet;  a  saw 
mill  was  in  full  operation  and  a  host  of  me 
chanical  blacksmiths,  scissors-grinders,  car 
penters,  wood-choppers  and  millers  were 
connected  with  a  motor  which  kept  them 
working  away  at  their  trades  in  awkward 
but  persevering  fashion. 

The  room  was  crossed  and  recrossed  with 
wires.  They  crept  up  the  walls,  lined  the 
floor,  made  a  grille  of  the  ceiling  and  would 
catch  an  unwary  visitor  under  the  chin  or 
above  the  ankle  just  when  he  least  expected 
it.  Yet  visitors  were  forbidden  in  so  crowded 
a  room,  and  even  his  father  declined  to  go 
farther  than  the  doorway.  As  for  Rob,  he 
thought  he  knew  all  about  the  wires,  and 

5 


THE  MASTER  KEY 


what  each  one  was  fur;  but  they  puzzled 
even  him,  at  times,  and  he  was  often  per 
plexed  to  know  how  to  utilize  them  all. 

One  day  when  he  had  locked  himself  in 
to  avoid  interruption  while  he  planned  the 
electrical  illumination  of  a  gorgeous  paste 
board  palace,  he  really  became  confused 
over  the  network  of  wires .  He  had  a  ' '  switch 
board,"  to  be  sure,  where  he  could  make 
and  break  connections  as  he  chose;  but  the 
wires  had  somehow  become  mixed,  and  he 
could  not  tell  what  combinations  to  use  to 
throw  the  power  on  to  his  miniature  electric 
lights. 

So  he  experimented  in  a  rather  haphaz 
ard  fashion,  connecting  this  and  that  wire 
blindly  and  by  guesswork,  in  the  hope  that 
he  would  strike  the  right  combination. 
Then  he  thought  the  combination  might  be 
right  and  there  was  a  lack  of  power;  so  he 
added  other  lines  of  wire  to  his  connections, 
and  still  others,  until  he  had  employed 
almost  every  wire  in  the  room. 
6 


A  quick  flash  of  light  almost  blinded  Rob 


ROB->S  WORKSHOP 

Yet  it  would  not  work;  and  after  pausing 
;i  moment  to  try  to  think  what  was  wrong 
he  went  at  it  again,  putting  this  and  that 
line  into  connection,  adding  another  here 
and  another  there,  until  suddenly,  as  he 
made  a  last  change,  a  quick  flash  of  light 
almost  blinded  him,  and  the  switch-board 
crackled  ominously,  as  if  struggling  to  carry 
a  powerful  current. 

Rob  covered  his  face  at  the  flash,  but 
finding  himself  unhurt  he  took  away  his 
hands  and  with  blinking  eyes  attempted  to 
look  at  a  wonderful  radiance  which  seemed 
to  fill  the  room,  making  it  many  times 
brighter  than  the  brightest  day. 

Although  at  first  completely  dazzled,  he 
peered  before  him  until  he  discovered  that 
the  light  was  concentrated  near  one  spot, 
from  which  all  the  glorious  rays  seemed  to 
scintillate. 

lie  closed  his  eyes  a  moment  to  rest  them; 
then  re-opening  them  and  shading  them 
somewhat  with  his  hands,  he  made  out  the 

7 


THE  AT  ASTER  KE1 


form  of  a  curious  Being  standing  with  maj 
esty  and  composure  in  the  center  of  the 
magnificent  radiance  and  looking  down 
upon  him! 


CHAPTER  TWO 

THE  DEMON  OF  ELECTRICITY 

ROB  was  a  courageous  boy,  .but  a  thrill 
of  fear  passed  over  him  in  spite  of  his 
bravest  endeavor  as  he  gazed  upon  the 
wondrous  apparition  that  confronted  him. 
For  several  moments  he  sat  as  if  turned  to 
stone,  so  motionless  was  he;  but  his  eyes 
were  nevertheless  fastened  upon  the  Being 
and  devouring  every  detail  of  his  appear 
ance. 

And  how  strange  an  appearance  he  pre 
sented  ! 

His  jacket  was  a  wavering  mass  of  white 
light,  edged  with   braid  of   red   flames  that 

9 


THE  MASTER  KET 

shot  little  tongues  in  all  directions.  The 
buttons  blazed  in  golden  lire.  His  trousers 
had  a  bluish,  incandescent  color,  with 
glowing  stripes  of  crimson  braid.  His  vest 
was  gorgeous  with  all  the  colors  of  the  rain 
bow  blended  into  a  flashing,  resplendent 
mass.  In  feature  he  was  most  majestic,  and 
his  eyes  held  the  soft  but  penetrating  bril 
liance  of  electric  lights. 

It  was  hard  to  meet  the  gaze  of  those 
searching  eyes,  but  Rob  did  it,  and  at  once 
the  splendid  apparition  bowed  and  said  in 
a  low,  clear  voice: 

"I  am  here." 

"  I  know  that,"  answered  the  boy,  trem 
bling,  "  but  why  are  you  here  ?" 

"  Because  you  have  touched  the  Master 
Key  of  Electricity,  and  I  must  obey  the 
laws  of  nature  that  compel  me  to  respond 
to  your  summons." 

"  I — I  didn't  know  I  touched  the  Master 
Key,"  faltered  the  boy. 

"  I  understand  that.  You  did  it  uncon- 
10 


THE  DEMON  OF  ELECTRICITY 

sciously.  No  one  in  the  world  has  ever 
done  it  before,  for  Nature  has  hitherto  kept 
the  secret  safe  locked  within  her  bosom." 

Rob  took  time  to  wonder  at  this  state 
ment. 

u  Then  who  are  you?"  he  inquired,  at 
length. 

"  The  Demon  of  Electricity,"  was  the 
solemn  answer. 

"  Good  gracious  !"  exclaimed  Rob,  "  a 
demon  !" 

"  Certainly.  I  am,  in  truth,  the  Slave 
of  the  Master  Key,  and  am  forced  to  obey 
the  commands  of  any  one  who  is  wise  and 
brave  enough — or,  as  in  your  own  case, 
fortunate  and  fool-hardy  enough — to  touch 
it." 

"I — I've  never  guessed  there  was  such 
a  thing  as  a  Master  Key,  or — or  a  Demon 
of  Electricity,  and — and  I'm  awfully  sorry 
I — I  called  you  up  !"  stammered  the  boy, 
abashed  by  the  imposing  appearance  of  his 
companion. 

ii 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

The  Demon  actually  smiled  at  this  speech, 
— a  smile  that  was  almost  reassuring. 

"  I  am  not  sorry,"  he  said,  in  kindlier 
tone,  "  for  it  is  not  much  pleasure  waiting 
century  after  century  for  some  one  to  com 
mand  my  services.  I  have  often  thought 
my  existence  uncalled  for,  since  you  Earth 
people  are  so  stupid  and  ignorant  that  you 
seem  unlikely  ever  to  master  the  secret  of 
electrical  power." 

"  Oh,  we  have  some  great  masters  among 
us!"  cried  Rob,  rather  nettled  at  this  state 
ment.  "Now,  there's  Edison — " 

"Edison!"  exclaimed  the  Demon,  with  a 
faint  sneer;  "what  does  he  know?" 

"Lots  of  things,"  declared  the  boy. 
"He's  invented  no  end  of  wonderful 
electrical  things." 

"You  are  wrong  to  call  them  wonder 
ful,"  replied  the  Demon,  lightly.  "He 
really  knows  little  more  than  yourself  about 
the  laws  that  control  electricity.  His  inven 
tions  are  trifling  things  in  comparison  with 
12 


THE  DEMON  OF  ELECTRICITT 

the  really  wonderful  results  to  be  obtained 
by  one  who  would  actually  know  how  to 
direct  the  electric  powers  instead  of  groping 
blindly  after  insignificant  effects.  Why, 
I've  stood  for  months  by  Edison's  elbow, 
hoping  and  longing  for  him  to  touch  the 
Master  Key;  but  I  can  see  plainly  he  will 
never  accomplish  it." 

"Then  there's  Tesla,"  said  the  boy. 

The  Demon  laughed. 

66  There  is  Tesla,  to  be  sure,"  he  said. 
"  But  what  of  him?" 

"  Why,  he's  discovered  a  powerful  light," 
the  Demon  gave  an  amused  chuckle,  "  and 
he's  in  communication  with  the  people  in 
Mars." 

"  What,  people?" 

"  Why,  the  people  who  live  there." 

" There  are  none." 

This  quiet  statement  almost  took  Rob's 
breath  away,  and  caused  him  to  stare  hard 
at  his  visitor. 

"  It's  generally  thought,"  he  resumed,  in 

13 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

an  annoyed  tone,  "  that  Mars  has  inhabi 
tants  who  are  far  in  advance  of  ourselves  in 
civilization.  Many  scientific  men  think  the 
people  of  Mars  have  been  trying  to  signal 
us  for  years,  only  we  don't  understand  their 
signals.  And  great  novelists  have  written 
about  the  Martians  and  their  wonderful  civ 
ilization,  and — " 

"  And  they  all  know  as  much  about  that 
little  planet  as  you  do  yourself,"  interrupted 
the  Demon,  impatiently.  "The  trouble 
with  you  Earth  people  is  that  you  delight 
in  guessing  about  what  you  can  not  know. 
Now  I  happen  to  know  all  about  Mars,  be 
cause  I  can  traverse  all  space  and  have  had 
ample  leisure  to  investigate  the  different 
planets.  Mars  is  not  peopled  at  all,  nor  is 
any  other  of  the  planets  you  recognize  in 
the  heavens.  Some  contain  low  orders  of 
beasts,  to  be  sure,  but  Earth  alone  has  an 
intelligent,  thinking,  reasoning  population, 
and  your  scientists  and  novelists  would  do 
better  trying  to  comprehend  their  own  planet 


THE  DEMON  OF  ELECTRICITY 

than  in  groping  through  space  to  unravel 
the  mysteries  of  barren  and  unimportant 
worlds." 

Rob  listened  to  this  with  surprise  and  dis 
appointment;  but  he  reflected  that  the 
Demon  ought  to  know  what  he  was  talking 
about,  so  he  did  not  venture  to  contradict 
him. 

"It  is  really  astonishing,"  continued  the 
Apparition,  "how  little  you  people  have 
learned  about  electricity.  It  is  an  Earth 
element  that  has  existed  since  the  Earth 
itself  was  formed,  and  if  you  but  under 
stood  its  proper  use  humanity  would  be 
marvelously  benefited  in  many  ways." 

"We  are,  already,"  protested  Rob;  "  our 
discoveries  in  electricity  have  enabled  us  to 
live  much  more  conveniently." 

"  Then  imagine  your  condition  were  you 
able  fully  to  control  this  great  element,"  re 
plied  the  other,  gravely.  "  The  weaknesses 
and  privations  of  mankind  would  be  con 
verted  into  power  and  luxury." 

15 


THE  MASTER  KET 

"  That's  true,  Mr. — Mr. — Demon,"  said 
the  boy.  "  Excuse  me  if  I  don't  get  your 
name  right,  but  I  understood  you  to  say 
you  are  a  demon." 

"  Certainly.   The  Demon  of  Electricity." 

"  But  electricity  is  a  good  thing,  you 
know,  and — and — " 

"  Well  ?" 

"  I've  always  understood  that  demons 
were  bad  things,"  added  Rob,  boldly. 

"  Not  necessarily,"  returned  his  visitor. 
"  If  you  will  take  the  trouble  to  consult 
your  dictionary,  you  will  find  that  demons 
may  be  either  good  or  bad,  like  any  other 
class  of  beings.  Originally  all  demons 
were  good,  yet  of  late  years  people  have 
come  to  consider  all  demons  evil.  I  do  not 
know  why.  Should  you  read  Hesiod  you 
will  find  he  says: 

'  Soon  was  a  world  of  holy  demons  made, 
Aerial  spirits,  by  great  Jove  designed 
To  be  on  earth  the  guardians  of  mankind,'  " 


16 


THE  DEMON  OF  ELECTRICITY 

"  But  Jove  was  himself  a  myth,"  objected 
Rob,  who  had  been  studying  mythology. 

The  Demon  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"Then  take  the  words  of  Mr.  Shake 
speare,  to  whom  you  all  defer,"  he  replied. 
"Do  you  not  remember  that  he  says: 

'  Thy  demon  (that's  thy  spirit  which  keeps  thee)  is 
Noble,  courageous,  high,  unmatchable.'  " 

"  Oh,  if  Shakespeare  says  it,  that's  all 
right,"  answered  the  boy.  "But  it  seems 
you're  more  like  a  genius,  for  you  answer 
the  summons  of  the  Master  Key  of  Elec 
tricity  in  the  same  way  Aladdin's  genius 
answered  the  rubbing  of  the  lamp." 

"  To  be  sure.  A  demon  is  also  a  genius; 
and  a  genius  is  a  demon,"  said  the  Being. 
"  What  matters  a  name?  I  am  here  to  do 
your  bidding." 


CHAPTER  THREE 

THE  THREE  GIFTS 

FAMILIARITY  with  any  great  thing 
removes  our  awe  of  it.  The  great  gen 
eral  is  only  terrible  to  the  enemy;  the  great 
poet  is  frequently  scolded  by  his  wife;  the 
children  of  the  great  statesman  clamber 
about  his  knees  with  perfect  trust  and  im 
punity;  the  great  actor  who  is  called  before 
the  curtain  by  admiring  audiences  is  often 
waylaid  at  the  stage  door  by  his  creditors. 

So  Rob,  having  conversed  for  a  time  with 

the  glorious  Demon  of  Electricity,  began  to 

regard  him  with  more  composure  and  less 

awe,  as  his  eyes  grew  more  and  more  ac- 

18 


THE  THREE  GIFTS 

customed  to  the  splendor  that  at  first  had 
well-nigh  blinded  them. 

When  the  Demon  announeed  himself 
ready  to  do  the  boy's  bidding,  he  frankly 
replied: 

"  I  am  no  skilled  electrician,  as  you 
very  well  know.  My  calling  you  here  was 
an  accident.  So  I  don't  know  how  to  com 
mand  you,  nor  what  to  ask  you  to  do." 

"  But  I  must  not  take  advantage  of  your 
ignorance,"  answered  the  Demon.  "Also, 
I  am  quite  anxious  to  utilize  this  opportu 
nity  to  show  the  world  what  a  powerful  ele 
ment  electricity  really  is.  So  permit  me 
to  inform  you  that,  having  struck  the  Mas 
ter  Key,  you  are  at  liberty  to  demand  from 
me  three  gifts  each  week  for  three  succes 
sive  weeks.  These  gifts,  provided  they  are 
within  the  scope  of  electricity,  I  will  grant." 

Rob  shook  his  head  regretfully. 

"  If  I  were  a  great  electrician  I  should 
know  what  to  ask,"  he  said.  "But  I  am  too 


THE  MASTER  NET 

ignorant    to  take   advantage  of  your   kind 
offer." 

"  Then,"  replied  the  Demon,  "  I  will 
myself  suggest  the  gifts,  and  they  will  be  of 
such  a  character  that  the  Earth  people  will 
learn  the  possibilities  that  lie  before  them 
and  be  encouraged  to  work  more  intelli 
gently  and  to  persevere  in  mastering  those 
natural  and  simple  laws  which  control  elec 
tricity.  For  one  of  the  greatest  errors  they 
now  labor  under  is  that  electricity  is  com 
plicated  and  hard  to  understand.  It  is 
really  the  simplest  Earth  element,  lying 
within  easy  reach  of  any  one  who  stretches 
out  his  hand  to  t  grasp  and  control  its  pow 
ers." 

Rob  yawned,  for  he  thought  the  De 
mon's  speeches  were  growing  rather  tire 
some.  Perhaps  the  genius  noticed  this 
rudeness,  for  he  continued: 

u  I  regret,  of  course,  that  you  are  a  boy 
instead  of  a  grown  man,  for  it  will  appear 
singular  to  your  friends  that  so  thoughtless  a 
20 


THE  THREE  GIFTS 

vouth  should  seemingly  have  mastered  the 

*j  O    J 

secrets  that  have  baflled  your  most  learned 
scientists.  But  that  can  not  be  helped,  and 
presently  you  will  become,  through  my  aid, 
the  most  powerful  and  wonderful  personage 
in  all  the  world." 

"Thank  you,"  said  Rob,  meekly.  "It'll 
be  no  end  of  fun." 

"Fun!"  echoed  the  Demon,  scornfully. 
"But  never  mind;  I  must  use  the  material 
Fate  has  provided  for  me,  and  make  the 
best  of  it." 

"What  will  you  give  me  first?"  asked  the 
boy,  eagerly. 

"That  requires  some  thought,"  returned 
the  Demon,  and  paused  for  several  mo 
ments,  while  Rob  feasted  his  eyes  upon  the 
gorgeous  rays  of  color  that  flashed  and  vi 
brated  in  every  direction  and  surrounded 
the  figure  of  his  visitor  with  an  intense  glow 
that  resembled  a  halo. 

Then  the  Demon  raised  his  head  and 
said: 

21 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

"The  thing  most  necessary  to  man  is  food 

•j 

to  nourish  his  bod}'.  He  passes  a  consider 
able  part  of  his  life  in  the  struggle  to  pro 
cure  food,  to  prepare  it  properly,  and  in 
the  act  of  eating.  This  is  not  right.  Your 
body  can  not  be  very  valuable  to  you  if  all 
your  time  is  required  to  feed  it.  I  shall, 
therefore,  present  you,  as  my  first  gift,  this 
box  of  tablets.  Within  each  tablet  are  stored 
certain  elements  of  electricity  which  are 
capable  of  nourishing  a  human  body  for  a 
full  day.  All  you  need  do  is  to  toss  one  into 
your  mouth  each  day  and  swallow  it.  It 
will  nourish  you,  satisfy  your  hunger  and 
build  up  your  health  and  strength.  The 
ordinary  food  of  mankind  is  more  or  less 
injurious;  this  is  entirely  beneficial.  More 
over,  you  may  carry  enough  tablets  in  your 
pocket  to  last  for  months." 

Here  he  presented  Rob  the  silver  box  of 
tablets,  and  the  boy,  somewhat  nervously, 
thanked  him  for  the  gift. 

"The  next  requirement  of  man,"  contin- 

22 


THE  THREE  GIFTS 

ued  the  Demon,  "is  defense  from  his  ene 
mies.  I  notice  with  sorrow  that  men  fre 
quently  have  wars  and  kill  one  another. 
Also,  even  in  civilized  communities,  man 
is  in  constant  danger  from  highwaymen, 
cranks  and  policemen.  To  defend  him 
self  he  uses  heavy  and  dangerous  guns, 
with  which  to  destroy  his  enemies.  This 
is  wrong.  He  has  no  right  to  take  away 
what  he  can  not  bestow;  to  destroy  what 
he  can  not  create.  To  kill  a  fellow-creat 
ure  is  a  horrid  crime,  even  if  done  in  self- 
defense.  Therefore,  my  second  gift  to  you 
is  this  little  tube.  You  may  carry  it  within 
your  pocket.  Whenever  an  enemy  threat 
ens  you,  be  it  man  or  beast,  simply  point 
the  tube  and  press  this  button  in  the  handle. 
An  electric  current  will  instantly  be  directed 
upon  your  foe,  rendering  him  wholly  un 
conscious  for  the  period  of  one  hour.  Dur 
ing  that  time  you  will  have  opportunity  to 
escape.  As  for  your  enemy,  after  regain 
ing  consciousness  he  will  surfer  no  incon- 

23 


THE  MASTER  KE1 


venience  from  the  encounter  beyond  a  slight 
headache." 

"That's  fine!"  said  Rob,  as  he  took  the 
tube.  It  was  scarcely  six  inches  long,  and 
hollow  at  one  end. 

"The  busy  lives  of  men,"  proceeded  the 
Demon,  "require  them  to  move  about  and 
travel  in  all  directions.  Yet  to  assist  them 
there  are  only  such  crude  and  awkward  ma 
chines  as  electric  trolleys,  cable  cars,  steam 
railways  and  automobiles.  These  crawl 
slowly  over  the  uneven  surface  of  the  earth 
and  frequently  get  out  of  order.  It  has  grieved 
me  that  men  have  not  yet  discovered  what 
even  the  birds  know:  that  the  atmosphere 
offers  them  swift  and  easy  means  of  travel 
ing  from  one  part  of  the  earth's  surface  to 
another." 

"Some  people  have  tried  to  build  air 
ships,"  remarked  Rob. 

"  So  they  have;  great,  unwieldy  machines 
which  offer  so  much  resistance  to  the  air 
that  they  are  quite  useless.  A  big  machine 
24 


THE  THREE  GIFTS 

is  not  needed  to  carry  one  through  the  air. 
There  are  forces  in  nature  which  may  be 
readily  used  for  such  purpose.  Tell  me, 
what  holds  you  to  the  Earth,  and  makes  a 
stone  fall  to  the  ground?" 

" Attraction  of  gravitation,"  said  Rob, 
promptly. 

"  Exactly.  That  is  one  force  I  refer  to," 
said  the  Demon.  "The  force  of  repulsion, 
which  is  little  known,  but  just  as  powerful, 
is  another  that  mankind  may  direct.  Then 
there  are  the  Polar  electric  forces,  attracting 
objects  toward  the  north  or  south  poles. 
You  have  guessed  something  of  this  by  the 
use  of  the  compass,  or  electric  needle.  Op 
posed  to  these  is  centrifugal  electric  force, 
drawing  objects  from  east  to  west,  or  in  the 
opposite  direction.  This  force  is  created  by 
the  whirl  of  the  earth  upon  its  axis,  and  is 
easily  utilized,  although  your  scientific  men 
have  as  yet  paid  little  attention  to  it. 

"These  forces,  operating  in  all  directions, 
absolute  and  immutable,  are  at  the  disposal 

25 


THE  MASTER  KE1 


of  mankind.  They  will  carry  you  through 
the  atmosphere  wherever  and  whenever  you 
choose.  That  is,  if  you  know  how  to  con 
trol  them.  Now,  here  is  a  machine  I  have 
myself  perfected." 

The  Demon  drew  from  his  pocket  some 
thing  that  resembled  an  open-faced  watch, 
having  a  narrow,  flexible  band  attached  to  it. 

"When  you  wish  to  travel,"  said  he, 
"  attach  this  little  machine  to  your  left  wrist 
by  means  of  the  band.  It  is  very  light  and 
will  not  be  in  your  way.  On  this  dial  are 
points  marked  '  up '  and  '  down  '  as  well 
as  a  perfect  compass.  When  you  desire  to 
rise  into  the  air  set  the  indicator  to  the  word 
'up,'  using  a  finger  of  your  right  hand  to 
turn  it.  When  you  have  risen  as  high  as 
you  wish,  set  the  indicator  to  the  point  of 
the  compass  you  want  to  follow  and  you 
will  be  carried  by  the  proper  electric  force 
in  that  direction.  To  descend,  set  the  in 
dicator  to  the  word  'down.'  Do  you  un 
derstand?" 

26 


THE  THREE  GIFTS 

"  Perfectly!  "  cried  Rob,  taking  the  ma 
chine  from  the  Demon  with  unfeigned  de 
light.  "  This  is  really  wonderful,  and  I'm 
awfully  obliged  to  you!" 

'  'Don't  mention  it,"  returned  the  Demon, 
dryly.  "These  three  gifts  you  may  amuse 
yourself  with  for  the  next  week.  It  seems 
hard  to  entrust  such  great  scientific  discover 
ies  to  the  discretion  of  a  mere  boy*  but  they 
are  quite  harmless,  so  if  you  exercise  proper 
care  you  can  not  get  into  trouble  through 
their  possession.  And  who  knows  what 
benefits  to  humanity  may  result?  One 
week  from  to-day,  at  this  hour,  I  will  again 
appear  to  you,  at  which  time  you  shall  re 
ceive  the  second  series  of  electrical  gifts." 

"I'm  not  sure,"  said  Rob,  "that  I  shall 
be  able  a^ain  to  make  the  connections  that 

O 

will  strike  the  Master  Key." 

"Probably  not,"  answered  the  Demon. 
"Could    you  accomplish    that,  you    might 
command  my  services  forever.     But,  hav 
ing  once  succeeded,  you  are  entitled  to  the 
27 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

nine  gifts — three  each  week  for  three  weeks 
— so  you  have  no  need  to  call  me  to  do  my 
duty.  I  shall  appear  of  my  own  accord." 

"  Thank  you,"  murmured  the  boy. 

The  Demon  bowed  and  spread  his  hands 
the  form  of  a  semi-circle.  An  instant 


in 


later  there  was  a  blinding  flash,  and  when 
Rob  recovered  from  it  and  opened  his  eyes 
the  Demon  of  Electricity  had  disappeared. 


CHAPTER  FOUR 

TESTING   THE    INSTRUMENTS 

THERE  is  little  doubt  that  had  this 
strange  experience  befallen  a  grown 
man  he  would  have  been  stricken  with  a  fit 
of  trembling  or  a  sense  of  apprehension,  or 
even  fear,  at  the  thought  of  having  faced 
the  terrible  Demon  of  Electricity,  of  having 
struck  the  Master  Key  of  the  world's  great 
est  natural  forces,  and  finding  himself  pos 
sessed  of  three  such  wonderful  and  useful 
gifts.  But  a  boy  takes  everything  as  a 
matter  of  course.  As  the  tree  of  knowl 
edge  sprouts  and  expands  within  him,  shoot 
ing  out  leaf  after  leaf  of  practical  experience, 
29 


THE  MASTER  KEJ 


the  succession  of  surprises  dulls  his  faculty 
of  wonderment.  It  takes  a  great  deal  to 
startle  a  boy. 

Rob  was  full  of  delight  at  his  unexpected 
good  fortune;  but  he  did  not  stop  to  con 
sider  that  there  was  anything  remarkably 
queer  or  uncanny  in  the  manner  in  which  it 
had  come  to  him.  His  chief  sensation  was 
one  of  pride.  He  would  now  be  able  to 
surprise  those  who  had  made  fun  of  his  elec 
trical  craze  and  force  them  to  respect  his 
marvelous  powers.  He  decided  to  say  noth 
ing  about  the  Demon  or  the  accidental  strik 
ing  of  the  Master  Key.  In  exhibiting  to  his 
friends  the  electrical  devices  he  had  acquired 
it  would  be  "no  end  of  fun"  to  mark  their 
amazement  and  leave  them  to  guess  how  he 
performed  his  feats. 

So  he  put  his  treasures  into  his  pocket, 
locked  his  workshop  and  went  downstairs 
to  his  room  to  prepare  for  dinner. 

While  brushing  his  hair  he  remembered 
it  was  no  longer  necessary  for  him  to  eat 
30 


TESTING  THE  INSTRUMENTS 

ordinary  food.  lie  was  feeling  quite  hun 
gry  at  that  moment,  for  he  had  a  boy's  rav 
enous  appetite;  but,  taking  the  silver  box 
from  his  pocket,  he  swallowed  a  tablet  and 
at  once  felt  his  hunger  as  fully  satisfied  as  if 
he  had  partaken  of  a  hearty  meal,  while  at 
the  same  time  he  experienced  an  exhilarat 
ing  glow  throughout  his  body  and  a  clear 
ness  of  brain  and  gaiety  of  spirits  which  filled 
him  with  intense  gratification. 

Still,  he  entered  the  dining-room  when 
the  bell  rang  and  found  his  father  and 
mother  and  sisters  already  assembled  there. 

" Where  have  you  been  all  day,  Robert?" 
inquired  his  mother. 

"No  need  to  ask,"  said  Mr.  Joslyn,with 
a  laugh.  " Fussing  over  electricity,  I'll  bet 
a  cookie!" 

"I  do  wish,"  said  the  mother,  fretfully, 
"that  he  would  get  over  that  mania.  It  un 
fits  him  for  anything  else." 

"Precisely,"  returned  her  husband,  dish 
ing  the  soup;  "but  it  fits  him  for  a  great 


THE  MASTER  KET 

career  when  he  becomes  a  man.  Why 
shouldn't  he  spend  his  summer  vacation  in 
pursuit  of  useful  knowledge  instead  of  romp 
ing  around  like  ordinary  boys?" 

"  No  soup,  thank  you,"  said  Rob. 

"  What  !"  exclaimed  his  father,  looking 
at  him  in  surprise,  "  it's  your  favorite 
soup." 

"I    know,"  said  Rob,  quietly,   "but   I 

don't  want  any." 

*/ 

"Are  you  ill,  Robert?"  asked  his  mother. 

"  Never  felt  better  in  my  life,"  answered 
Rob,  truthfully. 

Yet  Mrs.  Joslyn  looked  worried,  and 
when  Rob  refused  the  roast,  she  was  really 
shocked. 

"  Let  me  feel  your  pulse,  my  poor  boy!" 
she  commanded,  and  wondered  to  find  it  so 
regular. 

In  fact,  Rob's  action  surprised  them  all. 
He  sat  calmly  throughout  the  meal,  eat 
ing  nothing,  but  apparently  in  good  health 


TESTING  THE  INSTRUMENTS 

and  spirits,  while  even  his  sisters  regarded 
him  with  troubled  countenances. 

"  He's  worked  too  hard,  I  guess,"  said 
Mr.  Joslyn,  shaking  his  head  sadly. 

"  Oh,  no;  I  haven't,"  protested  Rob; 
66  but  I've  decided  not  to  eat  anything, 
hereafter.  It's  a  bad  habit,  and  does  more 
harm  than  good." 

"  Wait  till  breakfast,"  said  sister  Helen, 
with  a  Jaugh;  "  you'll  be  hungry  enough 
by  that  time." 

However,  the  boy  had  no  desire  for  food 
at  breakfast  time,  either,  as  the  tablet  suf 
ficed  for  an  entire  day.  So  he  renewed 
the  anxiety  of  the  family  by  refusing  to  join 
them  at  the  table. 

"  If  this  goes  on,"  Mr.  Joslyn  said  to 
his  son,  when  breakfast  was  finished,  "  I 
shall  be  obliged  to  send  you  away  for  your 
health." 

"  I  think  of  making  a  trip  this  morning," 
said  Rob,  carelessly. 

"  Where  to  ?" 

33 


THE  MASTER  K  ET 

u  Oh,  I  may  go  to  Boston,  or  take  a  run 
over  to  Cuba  or  Jamaica,"  replied  the  boy. 

"  But  you  can  not  go  so  far  by  yourself," 
declared  his  father;  "  and  there  is  no  one 
to  go  with  you,  just  now.  Nor  can  I  spare 
the  money  at  present  for  so  expensive  a 
trip." 

"  Oh,  it  won't  cost  anything,"  replied 
Rob,  with  a  smile. 

Mr.  Joslyn  looked  upon  him  gravely  and 
sighed.  Mrs.  Joslyn  bent  over  her  son 
with  tears  in  her  eyes  and  said: 

"  This  electrical  nonsense  has  affected 
your  mind,  dear.  You  must  promise  me  to 
keep  away  from  that  horrid  workshop  for  a 


time." 


"  I  won't  enter  it  for  a  week,"  he  an 
swered.  u  But  you  needn't  worry  about 
me.  I  haven't  been  experimenting  with 
electricity  all  this  time  for  nothing,  I  can 
tell  you.  As  for  my  health,  I'm  as  well 
and  strong  as  any  boy  need  be,  and  there's 
nothing  wrong  with  my  head,  either.  Com- 

34 


TESTING  TPIE  INSTRUMENTS 

mon  folks  always  think  great  men  are  crazy, 
but  Edison  and  Tesla  and  I  don't  pay  any 
attention  to  that.  We've  got  our  discover 
ies  to  look  after.  Now,  as  I  said,  I'm  go 
ing  for  a  little  trip  in  the  interests  of  sci 
ence.  I  may  be  back  to-night,  or  I  maybe 
gone  several  days.  Anyhow,  I'll  be  back 
in  a  week,  and  you  mustn't  worry  about 
me  a  single  minute." 

"  How  are  you  going?"  inquired  his 
father,  in  the  gentle,  soothing  tone  persons 
use  in  addressing  maniacs. 

u  Through  the  air,"  said  Rob. 

His  father  groaned. 

"  Where's  your  balloon?"  inquired  sis 
ter  Mabel,  sarcastically. 

"  I  don't  need  a  balloon,"  returned  the 
boy.  "  That's  a  clumsy  way  of  traveling,  at 
best.  .1  shall  go  by  electric  propulsion." 

"  Good  gracious!"  cried  Mr.  Joslyn,  and 
the  mother  murmured:  "  My  poor  boy!  my 
poor  boy!" 

"As  you  are  my  nearest  relatives,"  con- 

35 


THE  MASTER  KET 

tinued  Rob,  not  noticing  these  exclamations, 
u  I  will  allow  you  to  come  into  the  back 
yard  and  see  me  start.  You  will  then  under 
stand  something  of  my  electrical  powers." 

They  followed  him  at  once,  although  with 
unbelieving  faces,  and  on  the  way  Rob 
clasped  the  little  machine  to  his  left  wrist, 
so  that  his  coat  sleeve  nearly  hid  it. 

When  they  reached  the  lawn  at  the  back 
of  the  house  Rob  kissed  them  all  good-by, 
much  to  his  sisters'  amusement,  and  turned 
the  indicator  of  the  little  instrument  to  the 
word  "  up." 

Immediately  he  began  to  rise  into  the 
air. 

"  Don't  worry  about  me  !"  he  called 
down  to  them.  "  Good-by!" 

Mrs.  Joslyn,  with  a  scream  of  terror,  hid 
her  face  in  her  hands. 

"  He'll  break  his  neck  !"  cried  the  as 
tounded  father,  tipping  back  his  head  to 
look  after  his  departing  son. 


He'll  break  his  neck!"  cried  the  astounded  father 


TESTING  THE  INSTRUMENTS 

"  Come  back  !  Come  back  !"  shouted 
the  girls  to  the  soaring  adventurer. 

"  I  will — some  day  !"  was  the  far-away 
answer,, 

Having  risen  high  enough  to  pass  over 
the  tallest  tree  or  steeple,  Rob  put  the  indi 
cator  to  the  east  of  the  compass-dial  and  at 
once  began  moving  rapidly  in  that  direction. 

The  sensation  was  delightful.  He  rode 
as.  gently  as  a  feather  floats,  without  any 
exertion  at  all  on  his  own  part;  yet  he 
moved  so  swiftly  that  he  easily  distanced  a 
railway  train  that  was  speeding  in  the  same 
direction. 

"This  is  great!"  reflected  the  youth. 
"  Here  I  am,  traveling  in  fine  style,  with 
out  a  penny  to  pay  any  one!  And  I've 
enough  food  to  last  me  a  month  in  my  coat 
pocket.  This  electricity  is  the  proper  stuff, 
after  all!  And  the  Demon's  a  trump,  and 
no  mistake.  Whee-ee!  How  small  every 
thing  looks  down  below  there.  The  people 
are  bugs,  and  the  houses  are  soap-boxes, 
37 


THE  MASTER  KET 


and  the  trees  are  like  clumps  of  grass.  I 
seem  to  be  passing  over  a  town.  Guess 
I'll  drop  down  a  bit,  and  take  in  the  sights." 

He  pointed  the  indicator  to  the  word 
"down,"  and  at  once  began  dropping 
through  the  air.  He  experienced  the  sensa 
tion  one  feels  while  descending  in  an  eleva 
tor.  When  he  reached  a  point  just  above 
the  town  he  put  the  indicator  to  the  zero 
mark  and  remained  stationary,  while  he 
examined  the  place.  But  there  was  nothing 
to  interest  him,  particularly;  so  after  a  brief 
survey  he  once  more  ascended  and  contin 
ued  his  journey  toward  the  east. 

At  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  he 
reached  the  city  of  Boston,  and  alighting 
unobserved  in  a  quiet  street  he  walked 
around  for  several  hours  enjoying  the  sights 
and  wondering  what  people  would  think  of 
him  if  they  but  knew  his  remarkable  pow 
ers.  But  as  he  looked  just  like  any  other 
boy  no  one  noticed  him  in  any  way. 

It  was  nearly  evening,  and  Rob  had  wan- 

33 


TESTING  THE  INSTRUMENTS 

dered  down  by  the  wharves  to  look  at  the 
shipping,  when  his  attention  was  called  to 
an  ugly  looking  bull  dog,  which  ran  toward 
him  and  began  barking  ferociously. 

"Get  out!"  said  the  boy,  carelessly,  and 
made  a  kick  at  the  brute. 

The  dog  uttered  a  fierce  growl  and  sprang 
upon  him  with  bared  teeth  and  flashing  red 
eyes.  Instantly  Rob  drew  the  electric  tube 
from  his  pocket,  pointed  it  at  the  dog  and 
pressed  the  button.  Almost  at  the  same  mo 
ment  the  dog  gave  a  yelp,  rolled  over  once 
or  twice  and  lay  still. 

"I  guess  that'll  settle  him,"  laughed  the 
boy;  but  just  then  he  heard  an  angry  shout, 
and  looking  around  saw  a  policeman  run 
ning  toward  him. 

"Kill  me  dog,  will  ye— eh?"  yelled  the 
officer;  "well,  I'll  just  run  ye  in  for  that 
same,  an'  ye' 11  spend  the  night  in  the  lock 
up!"  And  on  he  came,  with  drawn  club  in 
one  hand  and  a  big  revolver  in  the  other. 

"You'll  have   to  catch   me    first,"    said 

39 


THE  MASTER  KET 

Rob,  still  laughing,  and  to  the  amazement 
of  the  policeman  he  began  rising  straight 
into  the  air. 

"Come  down  here!  Come  down,  or  I'll 
shoot!"  shouted  the  fellow,  flourishing  his 
revolver. 

Rob  was  afraid  he  would;  so,  to  avoid  ac 
cidents,  he  pointed  the  tube  at  him  and 
pressed  the  button.  The  red-whiskered  po 
liceman  keeled  over  quite  gracefully  and  fell 
across  the  body  of  the  dog,  while  Rob  con 
tinued  to  mount  upward  until  he  was  out  of 
sight  of  those  in  the  streets. 

"That  was  a  narrow  escape,"  he  thought, 
breathing  more  freely.  "I  hated  to  para 
lyze  that  policeman,  but  he  might  have  sent 
a  bullet  after  me.  Anyhow,  he'll  be  all 
right  again  in  an  hour,  so  I  needn't  worry." 

It  was  beginning  to  grow  dark,  and  he 
wondered  what  he  should  do  next.  Had  he 
possessed  any  money  he  would  have  de 
scended  to  the  town  and  taken  a  bed  at  a 
hotel,  but  he  had  left  home  without  a  single 
40 


TESTING  THE  INSTRUMENTS 

penny.  Fortunately  the  nights  were  warm 
at  this  season, so  he  determined  to  travel  all 
night,  that  he  might  reach  by  morning  some 
place  he  had  never  before  visited. 

Cuba  had  always  interested  him,  and  he 
judged  it  ought  to  lie  in  a  southeasterly 
direction  from  Boston.  So  he  set  the  in 
dicator  to  that  point  and  began  gliding 
swiftly  toward  the  southeast. 

He  now  remembered  that  it  was  twenty- 
four  hours  since  he  had  eaten  the  first  elec 
trical  tablet.  As  he  rode  through  the  air 
he  consumed  another.  All  hunger  at  once 
left  him,  while  he  felt  the  same  invigorating 
sensations  as  before. 

After  a  time  the  moon  came  out,  and 
Rob  amused  himself  gazing  at  the  countless 
stars  in  the  sky  and  wondering  if  the  Demon 
was  right  when  he  said  the  world  was  the 
most  important  of  all  the  planets. 

But  presently  he  grew  sleepy,  and  before 
he  realized  what  was  happening  he  had 
fallen  into  a  sound  and  peaceful  slumber, 


THE  MASTER  KE1 


while  the  indicator  still  pointed  to  the  south 
east  and  he  continued  to  move  rapidly 
through  the  cool  night  air. 


CHAPTER  FIVE 

THE  CANNIBAL  ISLAND 

DOUBTLESS    the  adventures  of   the 
day    had    tired    Rob,   for    he    slept 
throughout  the  night  as  comfortably  as  if  he 
had  been  within  his  own  room,  lying  upon 
his  own  bed.    When,  at  last,  he  opened  his 
eyes  and  gazed  sleepily  about  him,  he  found 
himself  over  a  great  body  of  water,   mov 
ing  along  with  considerable  speed. 
,.     "It's  the  ocean,  of  course,"   he  said  to 
himself.     "1  haven't  reached  Cuba  yet.'' 
I   is  to  be  regretted  that  Rob's  knowledge 
of  geography  was  so  superficial;  for,  as  he 
had  intended  to  reach  Cuba,  he  should  have 

43 


THE  MASTER  KEY 


taken  a  course  almost  southwest  from  Bos 
ton,  instead  of  southeast.  The  sad  result 
of  his  ignorance  you  will  presently  learn, 
for  during  the  entire  day  he  continued  to 
travel  over  a  boundless  waste  of  ocean, 
without  the  sight  of  even  an  island  to  cheer 
him. 

The  sun  shone  so  hot  that  he  regretted 
he  had  not  brought  an  umbrella.  But  he 
wore  a  wide-brimmed  straw  hat,  which 
protected  him  somewhat,  and  he  finally  dis 
covered  that  by  rising  to  a  considerable  dis 
tance  above  the  ocean  he  avoided  the  reflec 
tion  of  the  sun  upon  the  water  and  also 
came  within  the  current  of  good  breeze. 

Of  course  he  dared  not  stop,  for  there 
was  no  place  to  land*  so  he  calmly  con 
tinued  his  journey. 

"It  may  be  I've  missed  Cuba,"  he 
thought;  "but  I  can  not  change  my  course 
now,  for  if  I  did  I  might  get  lost,  and  never 
be  able  to  find  land  again.  If  I  keep  on  as 
I  am  I  shall  be  sure  to  reach  land  of  some 

44 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLAND 

sort,  in  time,  and  when  I  wish  to  return 
home  I  can  set  the  indicator  to  the  north 
west  and  that  will  take  me  directly  back  to 
Boston." 

This  was  good  reasoning,  but  the  rash 
youth  had  no  idea  he  was  speeding  over  the 
ocean,  or  that  he  was  destined  to  arrive 
shortly  at  the  barbarous  island  of  Brava,  off 
the  coast  of  Africa.  Yet  such  was  the  case; 
just  as  the  sun  sank  over  the  edge  of  the 
waves  he  saw,  to  his  great  relief,  a  large 
island  directly  in  his  path. 

He  dropped  to  a  lower  position  in  the 
air,  and  when  he  judged  himself  to  be  over 
the  center  of  the  island  he  turned  the  indi 
cator  to  zero  and  stopped  short. 

The  country  was  beautifully  wooded, 
while  pretty  brooks  sparkled  through  the 
rich  green  foliage  of  the  trees.  The  island 
sloped  upwards  from  the  sea-coast  in  all  di 
rections,  rising  to  a  hill  that  was  almost  a 
mountain  in  the  center.  There  were  two 
open  spaces,  one  on  each  side  of  the  island, 

45 


THE  MASTER  KEJ 


and  Rob  saw  that  these  spaces  were  occu 
pied  by  queer-looking  huts  built  from  brush 
wood  and  branches  of  trees."  This  showed 
that  the  island  was  inhabited,  but  as  Rob 
had  no  idea  what  island  it  was  he  wisely  de 
termined  not  to  meet  the  natives  until  he 
had  discovered  what  they  were  like  and 
whether  they  were  disposed  to  be  friendly. 

So  he  moved  over  the  hill,  the  top  of 
which  proved  to  be  a  flat,  grass-covered 
plateau  about  fifty  feet  in  diameter.  Find 
ing  it  could  not  be  easily  reached  from 
below,  on  account  of  its  steep  sides,  and 
contained  neither  men  nor  animals,  he 
alighted  on  the  hill-top  and  touched  his 
feet  to  the  earth  for  the  first  time  in  twenty- 
four  hours. 

The  ride  through  the  air  had  not  tired 
him  in  the  least;  in  fact,  he  felt  as  fresh  and 
vigorous  as  if  he  had  been  resting  through 
out  the  journey.  As  he  walked  upon  the 
soft  grass  of  the  plateau  he  felt  elated, 
and  compared  himself  to  the  explorers  of 
46 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLAND 

ancient  days;  for  it  was  evident  that  civili 
zation  had .  not  yet  reached  this  delightful 
spot. 

There  was  scarcely  any  twilight  in  this 
tropical  climate  and  it  grew  dark  quickly. 
Within  a  few  minutes  the  entire  island, 
save  where  he  stood,  became  dim  and  in 
distinct.  Fie  ate  his  daily  tablet,  and  after 
watching  the  red  glow  fade  in  the  western 
sky  and  the  gray  shadows  of  night  settle 
around  him  he  stretched  himself  comfortably 
upon  the  grass  and  went  to  sleep. 

The  events  of  the  day  must  have  deep 
ened  his  slumber,  for  when  he  awoke  the 
sun  was  shining  almost  directly  over  him, 
showing  that  the  day  was  well  advanced. 
He  stood  up,  rubbed  the  sleep  from  his  eyes 
and  decided  he  would  like  a  drink  of  water. 
From  where  he  stood  he  could  see  several 
little  brooks  following  winding  paths  through 
the  forest,  so  he  settled  upon  one  that 
seemed  farthest  from  the  brushwood  vil 
lages,  and  turning  his  indicator  in  that  direc- 

47 


THE  MASTER  K ET 


tion  soon  floated  through  the  air  to  a  shel 
tered  spot  upon  the  bank. 

Kneeling  down,  he  enjoyed  a  long,  re 
freshing  drink  of  the  clear  water,  but  as  he 
started  to  regain  his  feet  a  coil  of  rope  was 
suddenly  thrown  about  him,  pinning  his 
arms  to  his  sides  and  rendering  him  abso 
lutely  helpless. 

At  the  same  time  his  ears  were  saluted 
with  a  wild  chattering  in  an  unknown 
tongue,  and  he  found  himself  surrounded  by 
a  group  of  natives  of  hideous  appearance. 
They  were  nearly  naked,  and  bore  spears 
and  heavy  clubs  as  their  only  weapons. 
Their  hair  was  long,  curly,  and  thick  as 
bushes,  and  through  their  noses  and  ears 
were  stuck  the  teeth  of  sharks  and  curious 
metal  ornaments. 

These  creatures  had  stolen  upon  Rob  so 
quietly  that  he  had  not  heard  a  sound,  but 
now  they  jabbered  loudly,  as  if  much  ex 
cited. 

Finally  one  fat  and  somewhat  aged  na- 
48 


THE  CA  NNIBA  L  ISLAND 

tive,  who  seemed  to  be  a  chief,  came  close 
to  Rob  and  said,  in  broken  English: 

" How  get  here?" 

"I  flew,"  said  the  boy,  with  a  grin. 

The  chief  shook  his  head,  saying: 

" No  boat  come.   How  white  man  come?" 

"Through  the  air,"  replied  Rob,  who 
was  rather  flattered  at  being  called  a 
"man/' 

The  chief  looked  into  the  air  with  a  puz 
zled  expression  and  shook  his  head  again. 

"White  man  lie,"  he  said  calmly. 

Then  he  held  further  conversation  with 
his  fellows,  after  which  he  turned  to  Rob 
and  announced: 

"Me  see  white  man  many  times.  Come 
in  big  boats.  White  men  all  bad.  Make 
kill  with  bang-sticks.  We  kill  white  man 
with  club.  Then  we  eat  white  man.  Dead 
white  man  good.  Live  white  man  bad!' 

This  did  not  please  Rob  at  all.  The  idea 
of  being  eaten  by  savages  had  never  occur- 


49 


THE  MASTER  KE1 


red  to  him  as  a  sequel  to  his  adventures.  So 
he  said  rather  anxiously  to  the  chief: 

"Look  here,  old  fellow;  do  you  want  to 
die?" 

"Me  no  die.     You  die,"  was  the  reply. 

"You'll  die,  too,  if  you  eat  me,"  said 
Rob.  "I'm  full  of  poison." 

"Poison?  Don't  know  poison,"  re 
turned  the  chief,  much  perplexed  to  under 
stand  him. 

"Well,  poison  will  make  you  sick — awful 
sick.  Then  you'll  die.  I'm  full  of  it;  eat  it 
every  day  for  breakfast.  It  don't  hurt  white 
men,  you  see,  but  it  kills  black  men  quicker 
than  the  bang-stick." 

The  chief  listened  to  this  statement  care 
fully,  but  only  understood  it  in  part.  After 
a  moment's  reflection  he  declared: 

"  White  man  lie.  Lie  all  time.  Me 
eat  plenty  white  man.  Never  get  sick; 
never  die."  Then  he  added,  with  renewed 
cheerfulness:  "Me  eat  you,  too  !" 

Before  Rob  could  think  of  a  further  pro- 
50 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLAND 

test,  his  captors  caught  up  the  end  of  the 
rope  and  led  him  away  through  the  forest. 
He  was  tightly  bound,  and  one  strand  of 
rope  ran  across  the  machine  on  his  wrist 
and  pressed  it  into  his  flesh  until  the  pain 
was  severe.  But  he  resolved  to  be  brave, 
whatever  happened,  so  he  stumbled  along 
after  the  savages  without  a  word. 

After  a  brief  journey  they  came  to  a  vil 
lage,  where  Rob  was  thrust  into  a  brush 
wood  hut  and  thrown  upon  the  ground, 
still  tightlv  bound. 

"  We  light  fire,"  said  the  chief.  "  Then 
kill  little  white  man.  Then  eat  him." 

With  this  comforting  promise  he  went 
away  and  left  Rob  alone  to  think  the  mat 
ter  over. 

"  This  is  tough,"  reflected  the  boy,  with 
a  groan.  "  I  never  expected  to  feed  canni 
bals.  Wish  I  was  at  home  with  mother 
and  dad  and  the  girls.  Wish  I'd  never 
seen  the  Demon  of  Electricity  and  his  won 
derful  inventions.  I  was  happy  enough  be- 


THE  MASTER  KE1 


fore  I  struck  that  awful  Master  Key.  And 
now  I'll  be  eaten — with  salt  and  pepper, 
probably.  Wonder  if  there'll  be  any  gravy. 
Perhaps  they'll  boil  me,  with  biscuits,  as 
mother  does  chickens.  Oh-h-h-h-h!  It's 
just  awful  !" 

In  the  midst  of  these  depressing  thoughts 
he  became  aware  that  something  was  hurt 
ing  his  back.  After  rolling  over  he  found 
that  he  had  been  lying  upon  a  sharp  stone 
that  stuck  out  of  the  earth.  This  gave  him 
an  idea.  He  rolled  upon  the  stone  again 
and  began  rubbing  the  rope  that  bound  him 
against  the  sharp  edge. 

Outside  he  could  hear  the  crackling  of 
fagots  and  the  roar  of  a  newly-kindled  fire, 
so  he  knew  he  had  no  time  to  spare.  He 
wriggled  and  pushed  his  body  right  and  left, 
right  and  left,  sawing  away  at  the  rope, 
until  the  strain  and  exertion  started  the  per 
spiration  from  every  pore. 

At  length  the  rope  parted,  and  hastily 
uncoiling  it  from  his  body  Rob  stood  up 
52 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLAND 

and  rubbed  his  benumbed  muscles  and  tried 
to  regain  his  lost  breath.  He  had  not  freed 
himself  a  moment  too  soon,  he  found,  for 
hearing  a  grunt  of  surprise  behind  him  he 
turned  around  and  saw  a  native  standing  in 
the  door  of  the  hut. 

Rob  laughed,  for  he  was  not  a  bit  afraid  of 
the  blacks  now.  As  the  native  made  a  rush 
toward  him  the  boy  drew  the  electric  tube 
from  his  pocket,  pointed  it  at  the  foe,  and 
pressed  the  button.  The  fellow  sank  to  the 
earth  without  even  a  groan,  and  lay  still. 

Then  another  black  entered,  followed  by 
the  fat  chief.  When  they  saw  Rob  at  lib 
erty,  and  their  comrade  lying  apparently 
dead,  the  chief  cried  out  in  surprise,  using 
some  expressive  words  in  his  own  language. 

"If  it's  just  the  same  to  you,  old  chap," 
said  Rob,  coolly,  "I  won't  be  eaten  to-day. 
You  can  make  a  pie  of  that  fellow  on  the 
ground." 

"No!    We  eat  you,"  cried  the  chief,  an- 


53 


THE  MASTER  KEJ 


grily.  "You  cut  rope,  but  no  get  away;  no 
boat!" 

4'I  don't  need  a  boat,  thank  you,"  said 
the  boy;  and  then,  as  the  other  native  sprang 
forward,  he  pointed  the  tube  and  laid  him 
out  beside  his  first  victim. 

At  this  act  the  chief  stood  an  instant  in 
amazed  uncertainty.  Then  he  turned  and 
rushed  from  the  hut. 

Laughing  with  amusement  at  the  wad 
dling,  fat  figure,  Rob  followed  the  chief  and 
found  himself  standing  almost  in  the  center 
of  the  native  village.  A  big  fire  was  blaz 
ing  merrily  and  the  blacks  were  busy  mak 
ing  preparations  for  a  grand  feast. 

Rob  was  quickly  surrounded  by  a  crowd 
of  the  villagers,  who  chattered  fiercely  and 
made  threatening  motions  in  his  direction; 
but  as  the  chief  cried  out  to  them  a  warning 
in  the  native  tongue  they  kept  a  respectful 
distance  and  contented  themselves  with 
brandishing  their  spears  and  clubs. 

"If  any  of  your  fellows  come  nearer," 

54 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLAND 


Rob  said  to  the  fat  chief,  "I'll  knock  'em 


over.' 


"What  you  make  do?"  asked  the  chief, 
nervously. 

"Watch  sharp,  and  you'll  see,"  answered 
Rob.  Then  he  made  a  mocking  bow  to  the 
circle  and  continued:  "I'm  pleased  to  have 
met  you  fellows,  and  proud  to  think  you 
like  me  well  enough  to  want  to  eat  me;  but 
I'm  in  a  bit  of  a  hurry  to-day,  so  I  can't 
stop  to  be  digested."  After  which,  as  the 
crowd  broke  into  a  hum  of  surprise,  he 
added:  "Good-day,  black  folks!' '  and  quick 
ly  turned  the  indicator  of  his  traveling  ma 
chine  to  the  word  "up." 

Slowly  he  rose  into  the  air,  until  his  heels 
were  just  above  the  gaping  blacks;  but  there 
he  stopped  short.  With  a  thrill  of  fear  he 
glanced  at  the  indicator.  It  was  pointed 
properly,  and  he  knew  at  once  that  some 
thing  was  wrong  with  the  delicate  mechan 
ism  that  controlled  it.  Probably  the  pres 
sure  of  the  rope  across  its  face,  when  he  was 

55 


THE  MASTER  KET 

bound,  had  put  it  out  of  order.  There  he 
was,  seven  feet  in  the  air,  but  without  the 
power  to  rise  an  inch  farther. 

This  short  flight,  however,  had  greatly 
astonished  the  blacks,  who,  seeing  his  body 
suspended  in  mid-air,  immediately  hailed 
him  as  a  god,  and  prostrated  themselves  up 
on  the  ground  before  him. 

The  fat  chief  had  seen  something  of  white 
men  in  his  youth,  and  had  learned  to  mis 
trust  them.  So,  while  he  remained  as  pros 
trate  as  the  rest,  he  peeped  at  Rob  with  one 
of  his  little  black  eyes  and  saw  that  the  boy 
was  ill  at  ease,  and  seemed  both  annoyed 
and  frightened. 

So  he  muttered  some  orders  to  the  man 
next  him,  who  wriggled  along  the  ground 
until  he  had  reached  a  position  behind  Rob, 
when  he  rose  and  pricked  the  suspended 
"  god  "  with  the  point  of  his  spear. 

"  Ouch!"  yelled  the  boy;  "  stop  that !" 

He  twisted  his  head  around,  and  seeing 
the  black  again  make  a  movement  with  the 
56 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLAND 

spear,  Rob  turned  his  electric  tube  upon 
him  and  keeled  him  over  like  a  ten-pin. 

The  natives,  who  had  looked  up  at  his 
cry  of  pain,  again  prostrated  themselves, 
kicking  their  toes  against  the  ground  in  a 
terrified  tattoo  at  this  new  evidence  of  the 
god's  powers. 

The  situation  was  growing  somewhat 
strained  by  this  time,  and  Rob  did  not 
know  what  the  savages  would  decide  to  do 
next;  so  he  thought  it  best  to  move  away 
from  them,  since  he  was  unable  to  rise  to  a 
greater  height.  He  turned  the  indicator 
towards  the  south,  where  a  level  space  ap 
peared  between  the  trees;  but  instead  of 
taking  that  direction  he  moved  towards  the 
northeast,  a  proof  that  his  machine  had 
now  become  absolutely  unreliable.  More 
over,  he  was  slowly  approaching  the  fire, 
which,  although  it  had  ceased  blazing,  was 
a  mass  of  glowing  red  embers. 

In  his  excitement  he  turned  the  indicator 
this  way  and  that,  trying  to  change  the  di- 

57 


THE  MA  S  TER  KEf 


rection  of  his  flight,  but  the  only  result  of 
his  endeavor  was  to  carry  him  directly  over 
the  fire,  where  he  came  to  a  full  stop. 

"  Murder!  Help!  Fire  and  blazes!" 
he  cried,  as  he  felt  the  glow  of  the  coals  be 
neath  him.  "I'll  be  roasted,  after  all! 
Here;  help,  Fatty,  help!" 

The  fat  chief  sprang  to  his  feet  and  came 
to  the  rescue.  He  reached  up,  caught  Rob 
by  the  heels,  and  pulled  him  down  to  the 
ground,  away  from  the  fire.  But  the  next 
moment,  as  he  clung  to  the  boy's  feet,  they 
both  soared  into  the  air  again,  and,  al 
though  now  far  enough  from  the  fire  to  es 
cape  its  heat,  the  savage,  finding  himself 
lifted  from  the  earth,  uttered  a  scream  of 
horror  and  let  go  of  Rob,  to  fall  head  over 
heels  upon  the  ground. 

The  other  blacks  had  by  this  time  re 
gained  their  feet,  and  now  they  crowded 
around  their  chief  and  set  him  upright 
again. 

Rob  continued  to   float  in    the  air,   just 

58 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLAND 

above  their  heads,  and  now  abandoned  all 
thoughts  of  escaping  by  means  of  his 
wrecked  traveling  machine.  But  he  re 
solved  to  regain  a  foothold  upon  the  earth 
and  take  his  chances  of  escape  by  running 
rather  than  flying.  So  he  turned  the  indi 
cator  to  the  word  u  down,"  and  very  slowly 
it  obeyed,  allowing  him,  to  his  great  relief, 
to  sink  gently  to  the  ground. 


59 


CHAPTER  SIXTH 

THE  BUCCANEERS 

ONCE  more  the  blacks  formed  a  cir 
cle    around    our    adventurer,     who 
coolly  drew  his  tube  and  said  to  the  chief: 
"Tell  your  people    I'm  going  to    walk 
away  through  those  trees,  and  if    any  one 
dares    to    interfere    with   me    I'll    paralyze 
him." 

The  chief  understood  enough  English  to 
catch  his  meaning,  and  repeated  the  mes 
sage  to  his  men.  Having  seen  the  terrible 
effect  of  the  electric  tube  they  wisely  fell 
back  and  allowed  the  boy  to  pass. 

He  marched  through  their  lines  with  a 
60 


THE  BUCCANEERS 

fine  air  of  dignity,  although  he  was  fearful 
lest  some  of  the  blacks  should  stick  a  spear 
into  him  or  bump  his  head  with  a  war- 
club.  But  they  were  awed  by  the  wonders 
they  had  seen  and  were  still  inclined  to  be 
lieve  him  a  god,  so  he  was  not  molested. 

When  he  found  himself  outside  the  vil 
lage  he  made  for  the  high  plateau  in  the 
center  of  the  island,  where  he  could  be  safe 
from  the  cannibals  while  he  collected  his 
thoughts.  But  when  he  reached  the  place 
he  found  the  sides  so  steep  he  could  not 
climb  them,  so  he  adjusted  the  indicator 
to  the  word  "up"  and  found  it  had  still 
enough  power  to  support  his  body  while  he 
clambered  up  the  rocks  to  the  level,  grass- 
covered  space  at  the  top. 

Then,  reclining  upon  his  back,  he  gave 
himself  up  to  thoughts  of  how  he  might 
escape  from  his  unpleasant  predicament. 

"Here  I  am,  on  a  cannibal  island,  hun 
dreds    of    miles  from  civilization,  with    no 
way  to    get    back,"    he    reflected.     "The 
61 


THE  MASTER  KE7 


family  will  look  for  me  every  day,  and  finally 
decide  I've  broken  my  neck.  The  Demon 
will  call  upon  me  when  the  week  is  up  and 
won't  find  me  at  home;  so  Til  miss  the 
next  three  gifts.  I  don't  mind  that  so  much, 
for  they  might  bring  me  into  worse  scrapes 
than  this.  But  how  am  I  to  get  away  from 
this  beastly  island?  I'll  be  eaten,  after  all, 
if  I  don't  look  out!" 

These  and  similar  thoughts  occupied  him 
for  some  time,  yet  in  spite  of  much  plan 
ning  and  thinking  he  could  find  no  practical 
means  of  escape. 

At  the  end  of  an  hour  he  looked  over  the 
edge  of  the  plateau  and  found  it  surrounded 
by  a  ring  of  the  black  cannibals,  who  had 
calmly  seated  themselves  to  watch  his  move 
ments. 

' 'Perhaps  they  intend  to  starve  me  into 
surrender,"  he  thought;  "but  they  won't 
succeed  so  long  as  my  tablets  hold  out. 
And  if,  in  time,  they  should  starve  me,  I'll  be 


62 


THE  BUCCANEERS 

too  thin  and  tough  to  make  good  eating; 
so  I'll  get  the  best  of  them,  anyhow." 

Then  he  again  lay  down  and  began  to 
examine  his  electrical  traveling  machine. 
He  did  not  dare  take  it  apart,  fearing  he 
might  not  be  able  to  get  it  together  again, 
for  he  knew  nothing  at  all  about  its  con 
struction.  But  he  discovered  two  little  dents 
on  the  edge,  one  on  each  side,  which  had 
evidently  been  caused  by  the  pressure  of 
the  rope. 

"If  I  could  get  those  dents  out,"  he 
thought,  u  the  machine  might  work." 

He  first  tried  to  pry  out  the  edges  with 
his  pocket  knife,  but  the  attempt  resulted 
in  failure.  Then,  as  the  sides  seemed  a 
little  bulged  outward  by  the  dents,  he 
placed  the  machine  between  two  flat  stones 
and  pressed  them  together  until  the  little 
instrument  was  nearly  round  again.  The 
dents  remained,  to  be  sure,  but  he  hoped 
he  had  removed  the  pressure  upon  the 
works. 

63 


THE  MA  S  TER  KE  T 

There  was  just  one  way  to  discover  how 
well  he  had  succeeded,  so  he  fastened  the 
machine  to  his  wrist  and  turned  the  indi 
cator  to  the  word  "  up." 

Slowly  he  ascended,  this  time  to  a  height 
of  nearly  twenty  feet.  Then  his  progress 
became  slower  and  finally  ceased  alto 
gether. 

"  That's  a  little  better,"  he  thought. 
"  Now  let's  see  if  it  will  go  sidewise." 

He  put  the  indicator  to  "  north-west," — 
the  direction  of  home — and  very  slowly  the 
machine  obeyed  and  carried  him  away 
from  the  plateau  and  across  the  island. 

The  natives  saw  him  go,  and  springing 
to  their  feet  began  uttering  excited  shouts 
and  throwing  their  spears  at  him.  But  he 
was  already  so  high  and  so  far  away  that 
they  failed  to  reach  him,  and  the  boy  con 
tinued  his  journey  unharmed. 

Once  the  branches  of  a  tall  tree;  caught 
him  and  nearly  tipped  him  over;  but  he 
managed  to  escape  others  by  drawing  up 


THE  BUCCANEERS 

his  feet.  At  last  he  was  free  of  the  island 
and  traveling  over  the  ocean  again.  He 
was  not  at  all  sorry  to  bid  good-by  to  the 
cannibal  island,  but  he  was  worried  about 
the  machine,  which  clearly  was  not  in  good 
working  order.  The  vast  ocean  was  be 
neath  him,  and  he  moved  no  faster  than  an 
ordinary  walk. 

"At  this  rate  I'll  get  home  some  time 
next  year,"  he  grumbled.  "  However,  I 
suppose  I  ought  to  be  glad  the  machine 
works  at  all."  And  he  really  was  glad. 

All  the  afternoon   and  all  the  long  sum- 

o 

mer  night  he  moved  slowly  over  the  water. 
It  was  annoying  to  go  at  "  a  reg'lar  jog 
trot,"  as  Rob  called  it,  after  his  former 
swift  flight;  but  there  was  no  help  for  it. 

Just  as  dawn  was  breaking  he  saw  in  the 
distance  a  small  vessel,  sailing  in  the  direc 
tion  he  was  following,  yet  scarcely  moving 
for  lack  of  wind.  He  soon  caught  up  witli 
it,  but  saw  no  one  on  deck,  and  t^»e  craft 
had  a  dingy  and  uncared-for  ap;)  jarance 
65 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

that  was  not  reassuring.  But  after  hover 
ing  over  it  for  some  time  Rob  decided 
to  board  the  ship  and  rest  for  a  while.  He 
alighted  near  the  bow,  where  the  deck  was 
highest,  and  was  about  to  explore  the  place 
when  a  man  came  out  of  the  low  cabin  and 
espied  him. 

This  person  had  a  most  villainous  coun 
tenance,  and  was  dark-skinned,  black- 
bearded  and  dressed  in  an  outlandish,  pi 
ratical  costume.  On  seeing  the  boy  he 
gave  a  loud  shout  and  was  immediately 
joined  by  four  companions,  each  as  disa 
greeable  in  appearance  as  the  first. 

Rob  knew  there  would  be  trouble  the 
moment  he  looked  at  this  evil  crew,  and 
when  they  drew  their  daggers  and  pistols 
and  began  fiercely  shouting  in  an  unknown 
tongue,  the  boy  sighed  and  took  the  electric 
tube  from  his  coat  pocket. 

The  buccaneers  did  not  notice  the  move 
ment,  J~ut  rushed  upon  him  so  quickly  that 
he  had.  to  press  the  button  at  a  lively  rate. 
66 


It  was  a  strange  sight  to  see  the  pirates  drop  to  the 
deck  and  lie  motionless 


THE  B  UCCA  NEERS 

The  tube  made  no  noise  at  all,  so  it  was  a 
strange  and  remarkable  sight  to  see  the 
pirates  suddenly  drop  to  the  deck  and  lie 
motionless.  Indeed,  one  was  so  nearly 
upon  him  when  the  electric  current  struck 
him  that  his  head,  in  falling,  bumped  into 
Rob's  stomach  and  sent  him  reeling  against 
the  side  of  the  vessel. 

He  quickly  recovered  himself,  and  seeing 
his  enemies  were  rendered  harmless,  the 
boy  entered  the  cabin  and  examined  it 
curiously.  It  was  dirty  and  ill-smelling 
enough,  but  the  corners  and  spare  berths 
were  heaped  with  merchandise  of  all  kinds 
which  had  been  taken  from  those  so  un 
lucky  as  to  have  met  these  cruel  and  des 
perate  men. 

After  a  short  inspection  of  the  place  he 
returned  to  the  deck  and  again  seated  him 
self  in  the  bow. 

The  crippled  condition  of  his  traveling 
machine  was  now  his  chief  trouble,  and 
although  a  good  breeze  had  sprung  up  to  fill 
67 


THE  MA  S  TER  KE  T 

the  sails  and  the  little  bark  was  making  fair 
headway,  Rob  knew  he  could  never  expect 
to  reach  home  unless  he  could  discover  a 
better  mode  of  conveyance  than  this. 

lie  unstrapped  the  machine  from  his 
wrist  to  examine  it  better,  and  while  hold 
ing  it  carelessly  in  his  hand  it  slipped  and 
fell  with  a  bang  to  the  deck,  striking  upon 
its  round  edge  and  rolling  quickly  past  the 
cabin  and  out  of  sight.  With  a  cry  of  alarm 
he  ran  after  it,  and  after  much  search  found 
it  lying  against  the  bulwark  near  the  edge 
of  a  scupper  hole,  where  the  least  jar  of 
the  ship  would  have  sent  it  to  the  bottom  of 
the  ocean.  Rob  hastily  seized  his  treasure, 
and  upon  examining  it  found  the  fall  had 
bulged  the  rim  so  that  the  old  dents  scarcely 
showed  at  all.  But  its  original  shape  was 
more  distorted  than  ever,  and  Rob  feared 
he  had  utterly  ruined  its  delicate  mechan 
ism.  Should  this  prove  to  be  true,  he 
might  now  consider  himself  a  prisoner  of 
this  piratical  band,  the  members  of  which, 
68 


THE  B  UC  CA  NEERS 

although  temporarily  disabled,  would  soon 
regain  consciousness. 

He  sat  in  the  bow,  sadly  thinking  of  his 
misfortunes,  until  he  noticed  that  one  of  the 
men  be<mn  to  stir.  The  effect  of  the  elec- 

O 

trie  shock  conveyed  by  the  tube  was  begin 
ning  to  wear  away,  and  now  the  buccaneer 
sat  up,  rubbed  his  head  in  a  bewildered 
fashion  and  looked  around  him.  When  he 
saw  Rob  he  gave  a  shout  of  rage  and  drew 
his  knife,  but  one  motion  of  the  electric 
tube  made  him  cringe  and  slip  away  to  the 
cabin,  where  he  remained  out  of  clanger. 

And  now  the  other  four  sat  up,  groaning 
and  muttering  in  their  outlandish  speech; 
but  they  had  no  notion  of  facing  Rob's  tube  a 
second  time,  so  one  by  one  they  joined  their 
leader  in  the  cabin,  leaving  the  boy  undis 
turbed. 

By  this  time  the  ship  had  begun  to  pitch 
and  toss  in  an  uncomfortable  fashion,  and 
Rob  noticed  that  the  breeze  had  increased  to 
a  gale.  There  being  no  one  to  look  after 

69 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

the  sails,  the  vessel  was  in  grave  danger  of 
capsizing  or  breaking  her  masts.  The 
waves  were  now  running  high,  too,  and 
Rob  began  to  be  worried. 

Presently  the  captain  of  the  pirates  stuck 
his  head  out  of  the  cabin  door,  jabbered 
some  unintelligible  words  and  pointed  to 
the  sails.  The  boy  nodded,  for  he  under 
stood  they  wanted  to  attend  to  the  rigging. 
So  the  crew  trooped  forth,  rather  fearfully, 
and  began  to  reef  the  sails  and  put  the  ship 
into  condition  to  weather  the  storm. 

Rob  paid  no  further  attention  to  them. 
He  looked  at  his  traveling  machine  rather 
doubtfully  and  wondered  if  he  dared  risk 
its  power  to  carry  him  through  the  air. 
Whether  he  remained  in  the  ship  or  trusted 
to  the  machine,  he  stood  a  good  chance  of 
dropping  into  the  sea  at  any  moment.  So, 
while  he  hesitated,  he  attached  the  ma 
chine  to  his  wrist  and  leaned  over  the  bul 
warks  to  watch  the  progress  of  the  storm. 


70 


THE  B  UCCA  NEERS 

He  might  stay  in  the  ship  until  it  foundered, 
he  thought,  and  then  take  his  chances  with 
the  machine.  He  decided  to  wait  until  a 
climax  arrived. 

The  climax  came  the  next  moment,  for 
while  he  leaned  over  the  bulwarks  the  buc 
caneers  stole  up  behind  him  and  suddenly 
seized  him  in  their  grasp.  While  two  of 
them  held  his  arms  the  others  searched  his 
pockets,  taking  from  him  the  electric  tube 
and  the  silver  box  containing  his  tablets. 
These  they  carried  to  the  cabin  and  threw 
upon  the  heap  of  other  valuables  they  had 
stolen.  They  did  not  notice  his  traveling 
machine,  however,  but  seeing  him  now  un- 

"  /  O 

armed  they  began  jeering  and  laughing  at 
him,  while  the  brutal  captain  relieved  his 
anger  by  giving  the  prisoner  several  mali 
cious  kicks. 

Rob  bore  his  misfortune  meekly,  although 
he  was  almost  ready  to  cry  with  grief  and 
disappointment.  But  when  one  of  the  pi- 


THE  MA  S  TER  KEY 

rates,  to  inflict  further  punishment  on  the 
boy,  came  towards  him  with  a  heavy  strap, 
he  resolved  not  to  await  the  blow. 

Turning  the  indicator  to  the  word  "up" 
he  found,  to  his  joy  and  relief,  that  it  would 
yet  obey  the  influence  of  the  power  of  re 
pulsion.  .Seeing  him  rise  into  the  air  the 
fellow  made  a  grab  for  his  foot  and  held 
it  firmly,  while  his  companions  ran  to  help 
him.  Weight  seemed  to  make  no  difference 
in  the  machine;  it  lifted  the  pirate  as  well 
as  Rob;  it  lifted  another  who  clung  to  the 
first  man's  leg,  and  another  who  clung  to 
him.  The  other  two  also  caught  hold, 

o 

hoping  their  united  strength  would  pull 
him  down,  and  the  next  minute  Rob  was 
soaring  through  the  air  with  the  entire 
string  of  five  buccaneers  dangling  from  his 
left  leg. 

At  first  the  villains  were  too  astounded  to 
speak,  but  as  they  realized  that  they  were 
being  carried  through  the  air  and  away  from 
their  ship  they  broke  into  loud  shouts  of 

72 


THE  BUCCANEERS 

dismay,  and  finally  the  one  who  grasped 
Rob's  leg  lost  his  hold  and  the  five  plunged 
downward  and  splashed  into  the  sea. 

Finding  the  machine  disposed  to  work 
accurately,  Rob  left  the  buccaneers  to  swim 
to  the  ship  in  the  best  way  they  could,  while 
he  dropped  down  to  the  deck  again  and  re 
covered  from  the  cabin  his  box  of  tablets 
and  the  electric  tube.  The  fellows  were  just 
scrambling  on  board  when  he  again  escaped, 
shooting  into  the  air  with  considerable 
speed. 

Indeed,  the  instrument  now  worked  bet 
ter  than  at  any  time  since  he  had  reached 
the  canni'bal  island,  and  the  boy  was  greatly 
delighted. 

The  wind  at  first  sent  him  spinning  away 
to  the  south,  but  he  continued  to  rise  until 
he  was  above  the  air  currents,  and  the  storm 
raged  far  beneath  him.  Then  he  set  the 
indicator  to  the  northwest  and  breathlessly 
waited  to  see  if  it  would  obey.  Hurrah! 
away  he  sped  at  a  fair  rate  of  speed,  while 

73 


THE  MASTER  KEt 


all  his  anxiety  changed  to  a  feeling  of  sweet 
contentment. 

His  success  had  greatly  surprised  him, 
but  he  concluded  that  the  jar  caused  by  drop 
ping  the  instrument  had  relieved  the  pres 
sure  upon  the  works,  and  so  helped  rather 
than  harmed  the  free  action  of  the  electric 
currents. 

While  he  moved  through  the  air  with  an 
easy,  gliding  motion  he  watched  with  much 
interest  the  storm  raging  below.  Above 
his  head  the  sun  was  peacefully  shining  and 
the  contrast  was  stra-nge  and  impressive. 
After  an  hour  or  so  the  storm  abated,  or 
else  he  passed  away  from  it,  for  the  deep 
blue  of  the  ocean  again  greeted  his  eyes. 
He  dropped  downward  until  he  was  about 
a  hundred  feet  above  the  water,  when  he 
continued  his  northwesterly  course. 

But   now  he  regretted  having   interfered 

o  o 

for  a  moment  with  the  action  of  the  ma 
chine,  for  his  progress,  instead  of  being 


74 


THE  BUCCANEERS 

swift  as  a  bird's  flight,  became  slow  and 
jerky,  nor  was  he  sure  that  the  damaged  ma 
chine  might  not  break  down  altogether  at 
any  moment.  Yet  so  far  his  progress  was 
in  the  right  direction,  and  he  resolved  to  ex 
periment  no  further  with  the  instrument, 
but  to  let  it  go  as  it  would,  so  long  as  it 
supported  him  above  the  water.  However 
irregular  the  motion  might  be,  it  was  sure, 
if  continued,  to  bring  him  to  land  in  time, 
and  that  was  all  he  cared  about  just  then. 

When  night  fell  his  slumber  was  broken 
and  uneasy,  for  he  wakened  more  than  once 
with  a  start  of  fear  that  the  machine  had 
broken  and  he  was  falling  into  the  sea. 
Sometimes  he  was  carried  along  at  a  swift 
pace,  and  again  the  machine  scarcely 
worked  at  all,  so  his  anxiety  was  excusable. 

The  following  day  was  one  of  continued 
uneasiness  for  the  boy,  who  began  to  be 
harrassed  by  doubts  as  to  whether,  after  all, 
he  was  moving  in  the  right  direction.  The 


75 


THE  MA  S  TER  KE  T 

machine  had  failed  at  one  time  in  this  re 
spect  and  it  might  again.  He  had  lost  all 
confidence  in  its  accuracy. 

In  spite  of  these  perplexities  Rob  passed 
the  second  night  of  his  uneven  flight  in  pro 
found  slumber,  being  exhausted  by  the  strain 
and  excitement  he  had  undergone.  When 
he  awoke  at  daybreak,  he  saw,  to  his  pro 
found  delight,  that  he  was  approaching 
land. 

The  rising  sun  found  him  passing  over  a 
big  city,  which  he  knew  to  be  Boston. 

He  did  not  stop.  The  machine  was  so 
little  to  be  depended  upon  that  he  dared 
make  no  halt.  But  he  was  obliged  to  alter 
the  direction  from  northwest  to  west,  and 
the  result  of  this  slight  change  was  so  great 

O  O  O 

a  reduction  in  speed  that  it  was  mid-day  be 
fore  he  saw  beneath  him  the  familiar  village 
in  which  he  lived. 

Carefully    marking    the    location    of    his 
father's  house,  he  came   to   a  stop  directly 
over  it,  and  a  few  moments  later  he  man- 
76 


THE  BUCCANEERS 

aged  to  land  upon  the  exact  spot  in  the  back 
yard  whence  he  had  taken  his  first  success 
ful  flight. 


77 


CHAPTER  SEVEN 

THE  DEMON  BECOMES  ANGRY 

WHEN  Rob  had  been  hugged  and 
kissed  by  his  mother  and  sisters, 
and  even  Mr.  Joslyn  had  embraced  him 
warmly,  he  gave  them  a  brief  account  of 
his  adventures.  The  story  was  received 
with  many  doubtful  looks  and  much  grave 
shaking  of  heads,  as  was  quite  natural  under 
the  circumstances. 

"  I  hope,  my  dear  son,"  said  his  father, 
"  that  you  have  now  passed  through  enough 
dangers  to  last  you  a  lifetime,  so  that  here 
after  you  will  be  contented  to  remain  at 
home." 

78 


THE  DEMON  BECOMES  ANGRY 

uOh,  Robert!"  cried  his  mother,  with 
tears  in  her  loving  eyes,  "you  don't  know 
how  we've  all  worried  about  you  for  the 
past  week!" 

"A  week?"  asked  Rob,  with  surprise. 

"Yes;  it's  a  week  to-morrow  morning 
since  you  flew  into  the  air  and  disappeared." 

"Then,"  said  the  boy,  thoughtfully, 
"I've  reached  home  just  in  time." 

"In  time  for  what?"  she  asked. 

But  he  did  not  answer  that  question.  He 
was  thinking  of  the  Demon,  and  that  on  the 
afternoon  of  this  very  day  he  might  expect 
the  wise  and  splendid  genius  to  visit  him  a 
second  time. 

At  luncheon,  although  he  did  not  feel 
hungry,  he  joined  the  family  at  table  and 
pleased  his  mother  by  eating  as  heartily 
as  of  old.  He  was  surprised  to  find  how 
good  the  food  tasted,  and  to  realize  what  a 
pleasure  it  is  to  gratify  one's  sense  of  taste. 
The  tablets  were  all  right  for  a  journey,  he 
thought,  but  if  he  always  ate  them  he  would 

79 


THE  MASTER  KET 

be  sure  to  miss  a  great  deal  of  enjoyment, 
since  there  was  no  taste  to  them  at  all. 

At  four  o'clock  he  went  to  his  workshop 
and  unlocked  the  door.  Everything  was 
exactly  as  he  had  left  it,  and  he  looked  at 
his  simple  electrical  devices  with  some 
amusement.  They  seemed  tame  beside  the 
wonders  now  in  his  possession;  yet  he  recol 
lected  that  his  numerous  wires  had  enabled 
him  to  strike  the  Master  Key,  and  therefore 
should  not  be  despised. 

Before  long  he  noticed  a  quickening  in 
the  air,  as  if  it  were  suddenly  surcharged 
with  electric  fluid,  and  the  next  instant,  in 
a  dazzling  flash  of  light,  appeared  the 
Demon. 

"I  am  here!"  he  announced. 

"So  am  I,"  answered  Rob.  "But  at  one 
time  I  really  thought  I  should  never  see  you 
again.  I've  been — " 

"Spare  me  your  history,"  said  the  De 
mon,  coldly.  "I  am  aware  of  your  advent 


ures." 


80 


THE  DEMON  BECOMES  ANGRY 

"Oh,  you  are!"  said  Rob,  amazed. 
"Then  you  know—" 

"I  know  all  about  your  foolish  experi 
ences,"  interrupted  the  Demon,  "for  I  have 
been  with  you  constantly,  although  I  re 
mained  invisible." 

"Then  you  know  what  a  jolly  time  I've 
had,"  returned  the  boy.  "But  why  do  you 
call  them  foolish  experiences?" 

"Because  they  were,  abominably  fool 
ish!"  retorted  the  Demon,  bitterly.  "I  en 
trusted  to  you  gifts  of  rare  scientific  interest 
— electrical  devices  of  such  utility  that  their 
general  adoption  by  mankind  would  create  a 
new  era  in  earth  life.  I  hoped  your  use  of 
these  devices  would  convey  such  hints  to 
electrical  engineers  that  they  would  quickly 
comprehend  their  mechanism  and  be  able 
to  reproduce  them  in  sufficient  quantities  to 
supply  the  world.  And  how  do  you  treat 
these  marvelous  gifts?  Why,  you  carry 
them  to  a  cannibal  island,  where  even  your 
crude  civilization  has  not  yet  penetrated!" 
81 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

"  I  wanted  to  astonish  the  natives,"  said 
Rob,  grinning. 

The  Demon  uttered  an  exclamation  of 
anger,  and  stamped  his  foot  so  fiercely  that 
thousands  of  electric  sparks  filled  the  air,  to 
disappear  quickly  with  a  hissing,  crinkling 
sound. 

u  You  might  have  astonished  those  igno 
rant  natives  as  easily  by  showing  them  an 
ordinary  electric  light,"  he  cried,  mock 
ingly.  "  The  power  of  your  gifts  would 
have  startled  the  most  advanced  electricians 
of  the  world.  Why  did  you  waste  them 
upon  barbarians?" 

"  Really,"  faltered  Rob,  who  was  fright 
ened  and  awed  by  the  Demon's  vehement 
anger,  "  I  never  intended  to  visit  a  cannibal 
island.  I  meant  to  go  to  Cuba." 

"  Cuba!  Is  that  a  center  of  advanced 
scientific  thought?  Why  did  you  not  take 
your  marvels  to  New  York  or  Chicago;  or, 
if  you  wished  to  cross  the  ocean,  to  Paris  or 
Vienna?" 

82 


THE   DEMON  BECOMES  ANGRY 

"I  never  thought  of  those  places,"  ac 
knowledged  Rob,  meekly. 

"  Then  you  were  foolish,  as  I  said,"  de 
clared  the  Demon,  in  a  calmer  tone.  "Can 
you  not  realize  that  it  is  better  to  be  consid 
ered  great  by  the  intelligent  thinkers  of  the 
earth,  than  to  be  taken  for  a  god  by  stupid 
cannibals?" 

"  Oh,  yes,  of  course,"  said  Rob.  "I  wish 
now  that  I  had  gone  to  Europe.  But  you're 
not  the  only  one  who  has  a  kick  coming," 
he  continued.  "Your  flimsy  traveling  ma 
chine  was  nearly  the  death  of  me." 

"Ah,  it  is  true,"  acknowledged  the  De 
mon,  frankly.  "The  case  was  made  of 
too  light  material.  When  the  rim  was 
bent  it  pressed  against  the  works  and  im 
peded  the  proper  action  of  the  currents. 
Had  you  gone  to  a  civilized  country  such 
an  accident  could  not  have  happened;  but 
to  avoid  possible  trouble  in  the  future  I 
have  prepared  a  new  instrument,  having  a 


THE  MASTER  KE1 


stronger  case,  which  I  will  exchange  for  the 
one  you  now  have." 

"That's  very  kind  of  you,"  said  Rob, 
eagerly  handing  his  battered  machine  to  the 
Demon  and  receiving  the  new  one  in  re 
turn.  "Are  you  sure  this  will  work?" 

"  It  is  impossible  for  you  to  injure  it," 
answered  the  other. 

"And  how  about  the  next  three  gifts?" 
inquired  the  boy,  anxiously. 

"  Before  I  grant  them,"  replied  the  De 
mon,  "  you  must  give  me  a  promise  to  keep 
away  from  uncivilized  places  and  to  exhibit 
your  acquirements  only  among  people  of 
intelligence." 

"All  right,"  agreed  the  boy;  "  I'm  not 
anxious  to  visit  that  island  again,  or  any 
other  uncivilized  country." 

"  Then  I  will  add  to  your  possessions 
three  gifts,  each  more  precious  and  impor 
tant  than  the  three  you  have  already  re 
ceived." 

At   this    announcement    Rob    began    to 


THE  DEMON  BECOMES  ANGRT 

quiver  with  excitement,  and  sat  staring 
eagerly  at  the  Demon,  while  the  latter  in 
creased  in  stature  and  sparkled  and  glowed 
more  brilliantly  than  ever. 


CHAPTER   EIGHT 

ROB  ACQUIRES  NEW  POWERS 

"T  HAVE  seen  the  folly  of  sending  you 
I  into  the  world  with  an  offensive  in 
strument,  yet  with  no  method  of  defense," 
resumed  the  Demon,  presently.  "You  have 
knocked  over  a  good  many  people  with  that 
tube  during  the  past  week." 

"I  know,"  said  Rob;  "but  I  couldn't  help 
it.  It  was  the  only  way  I  had  to  protect  my 
self." 

"Therefore    my   next  gift  shall   be    this 

Garment  of  Protection.     You  must  wear  it 

underneath  your  clothing.     It  has  power  to 

accumulate  and  exercise  electrical  repellent 

86 


ROD  ACQUIRES  NEW  POWERS 

force.  Perhaps  you  do  not  know  what  that 
means,  so  I  will  explain  more  fully.  When 
any  missile,  such  as  a  bullet,  sword  or  lance, 
approaches  your  person,  its  rush  through 
the  air  will  arouse  the  repellent  force  of 
which  I  speak,  and  this  force,  being  more 
powerful  than  the  projective  force,  will  ar 
rest  the  flight  of  the  missile  and  throw  it 
back  again.  Therefore  nothing  can  touch 
your  person  that  comes  with  any  degree  of 
force  or  swiftness,  and  you  will  be  safe  from 
all  ordinary  weapons.  When  wearing  this 
Garment  you  will  find  it  unnecessary  to  use 
the  electric  tube  except  on  rare  occasions. 
Never  allow  revenge  or  animosity  to  influ 
ence  your  conduct.  Men  may  threaten,  but 
they  can  not  injure  you,  so  you  must  re 
member  that  they  do  not  possess  your 
mighty  advantages,  and  that,  because  of 
your  strength,  you  should  bear  with  them 
patiently." 

Rob   examined  the   garment  with  much 
curiosity.     It  glittered  like  silver,  yet  was 

87 


THE  MASTER  K El 


soft  and  pliable  as  lamb's  wool.  Evidently 
the  Demon  had  prepared  it  especially  for 
his  use,  for  it  was  just  Rob's  size. 

"Now,"  continued  the  Demon,  more 
gravely,  uwe  approach  the  subject  of  an 
electrical  device  so  truly  marvelous  that  even 
I  am  awed  when  I  contemplate  the  accura 
cy  and  perfection  of  the  natural  laws  which 
guide  it  and  permit  it  to  exercise  its  func 
tions.  Mankind  has  as  yet  conceived  noth 
ing  like  it,  for  it  requires  full  knowledge  of 
electrical  power  to  understand  even  its  pos 
sibilities." 

The  Being  paused,  and  drew  from  an 
inner  pocket  something  resembling  a  flat 
metal  box.  In  size  it  was  about  four  inches 
by  six,  and  nearly  an  inch  in  thickness. 

"What  is  it?"  asked   Rob,  wonderingly. 

"It  is  an  automatic  Record  of  Events," 
answered  the  Demon. 

"I  don't  understand,"  said  Rob,  with 
hesitation. 

'"  I  will  explain  to  you  its  use,"  returned 
88 


ROB  ACQUIRES  NEW  POWERS 

the  Demon,  "although  the  electrical  forces 
which  operate  it  and  the  vibratory  currents 
which  are  the  true  records  must  remain -un 
known  to  you  until  your  brain  has  mastered 
the  higher  knowledge  of  electricity.  At 
present  the  practical  side  of  this  invention 
will  be  more  interesting  to  you  than  a  re 
view  of  its  scientific  construction. 

"  Suppose  you  wish  to  know  the  princi 
pal  events  that  are  occurring  in  Ger 
many  at  the  present  moment.  You  first 
turn  this  little  wheel  at  the  side  until  the 
word  '  GERMANY  '  appears  in  the  slot  at 
the  small  end.  Then  open  the  top  cover, 
which  is  hinged,  and  those  passing  events  in 
which  you  are  interested  will  appear  before 
your  eyes.  ' 

The  Demon,  as  he  spoke,  opened  the 
cover,  and,  looking  within,  the  boy  saw,  as 
in  a  mirror,  a  moving  picture  before  him. 
A  regiment  of  soldiers  was  marching 
through  the  streets  of  Berlin,  and  at  its 
head  rode  a  body  of  horsemen,  in  the  midst 
89 


THE  MASTER 


of  which  was  the  Emperor  himself.  The 
people  who  thronged  the  sidewalks  cheered 
and  waved  their  hats  and  handkerchiefs 
with  enthusiasm,  while  a  band  of  musicians 
played  a  German  air,  which  Rob  could  dis 
tinctly  hear. 

While  he  gazed,  spell-bound,  the  scene 
changed,  and  he  looked  upon  a  great  war 
ship  entering  a  harbor  with  fly  ing  pennants. 
The  rails  were  lined  with  officers  and  men 
straining  their  eyes  for  the  first  sight  of  their 
beloved  "  Vaterland^  after  a  long  foreign 
cruise,  and  a  ringing  cheer,  as  from  a  thou 
sand  throats,  came  faintly  to  Rob's  ear. 

Again  the  scene  changed,  and  within  a 
dingy,  underground  room,  hemmed  in  by 
walls  of  stone,  and  dimly  lighted  by  a  flick 
ering  lamp,  a  body  of  wild-eyed,  desperate 
men  were  plighting  an  oath  to  murder  the 
Emperor  and  overthrow  his  government. 

"  Anarchists?"  asked  Rob,  trembling 
with  excitement. 

"  Anarchists!"  answered  the  Demon,  with 
90 


ROB  ACQUIRES  NEW  POWERS 

a  faint  sneer,  and  he  shut  the  cover  of  the 
Record  with  a  sudden  snap. 

"It's  wonderful!"  cried  the  boy,  with  a 
sigh  that  was  followed  by  a  slight  shiver. 

"  The  Record  is,  indeed,  proof  within 
itself  of  the  marvelous  possibilities  of  elec 
tricity.  Men  are  now  obliged  to  depend 
upon  newspapers  for  information  5  but  these 
can  only  relate  events  long  after  they  have 
occurred.  And  newspaper  statements  are 
often  unreliable  and  sometimes  wholly 
false,  while  many  events  of  real  importance 
are  never  printed  in  their  columns.  You 
may  guess  what  an  improvement  is  this 
automatic  Record  of  Events,  which  is  as  re 
liable  as  Truth  itself.  Nothing  can  be 
altered  or  falsified,  for  the  vibratory  cur 
rents  convey  the  actual  events  to  your  vis 
ion,  even  as  they  happen." 

"  But  suppose,"  said  Rob,  "that  some 
thing  important  should  happen  while  I'm 
asleep,  or  not  looking  at  the  box?" 

"I  have  called  this  a  Record,"  replied 


THE  MASTER  KET 


the  Demon,  "and  such  it  really  is,  although 
I  have  shown  you  only  such  events  as  are 
in  process  of  being  recorded.  By  pressing 
this  spring  you  may  open  the  opposite  cover 
of  the  box,  where  all  events  of  importance 
that  have  occurred  throughout  the  world 
during  the  previous  twenty-four  hours  will 
appear  before  you  in  succession.  You  may 
thus  study  them  at  your  leisure.  The  vari 
ous  scenes  constitute  a  register  of  the  world's 
history,  and  may  be  recalled  to  view  as  often 
as  you  desire." 

"It's — it's  like  knowing  everything," 
murmured  Rob,  deeply  impressed  for  per 
haps  the  first  time  in  his  life. 

"It  is  knowing  every  thing,"  returned  the 
Demon 5  "and  this  mighty  gift  I  have  de 
cided  to  entrust  to  your  care.  Be  very  care 
ful  as  to  whom  you  permit  to  gaze  upon 
these  pictures  of  passing  events,  for  knowl 
edge  may  often  cause  great  misery  to  the 
human  race." 

"I'll  be  careful,"  promised  the  boy,  as 
92 


ROB  ACQUIRES  NEW  POWERS 

he  took  the  box  reverently  within  his  own 
hands. 

4 'The  third  and  last  gift  of  the  present 
series,"  resumed  the  Demon,  "is  one  no 
less  curious  than  the  Record  of  Events,  al 
though  it  has  an  entirely  different  value.  It 
is  a  Character  Marker." 

"What's  that?"  inquired  Rob. 

"I  will  explain.  Perhaps  you  know  that 
your  fellow-creatures  are  more  or  less  hypo 
critical.  That  is,  they  try  to  appear  good 
when  they  are  not,  and  wise  when  in  reality 
they  are  foolish.  They  tell  you  they  are 
friendly  when  they  positively  hate  you,  and 
try  to  make  you  believe  they  are  kind  when 
their  natures  are  cruel.  This  hypocrisy 
seems  to  be  a  human  failing.  One  of  your 
writers  has  said,  with  truth,  that  among  civ 
ilized  people  things  are  seldom  what  they 
seem." 

"I've  heard  that,"  remarked  Rob. 

"On  the  other  hand,"  continued  the 
Demon,  "some  people  with  fierce  counte- 
93 


THE  MASTER  KET 

nances  are  kindly  by  nature,  and  many  who 
appear  to  be  evil  are  in  reality  honorable 
and  trustworthy.  Therefore,  that  you  may 
judge  all  your  fellow-creatures  truly,  and 
know  upon  whom  to  depend,  I  give  you 
the  Character  Marker.  It  consists  of  this 
pair  of  spectacles.  While  you  wear  them 
every  one  you  meet  will  be  marked  upon 
the  forehead  with  a  letter  indicating  his  or 
her  character.  The  good  will  bear  the  letter 
<G,'  the  evil  the  letter  <E.'  The  wise  will 
be  marked  with  a  'W  and  the  foolish  with 
an  *F.'  The  kind  will  show  a  'K'  upon 
their  foreheads  and  the  cruel  a  letter  fC.' 
Thus  you  may  determine  by  a  single  look 
the  true  natures  of  all  those  you  encounter." 

"And  are  these,  also,  electrical  in  their 
construction?"  asked  the  boy,  as  he  took 
the  spectacles. 

"Certainly.  Goodness,  wisdom  and  kind 
ness  are  natural  forces,  creating  character. 
For  this  reason  men  are  not  always  to  blame 


94 


ROB  ACQUIRES  NEW  POWERS 

for  bad  character,  as  they  acquire  it  uncon 
sciously.  All  character  sends  out  certain 
electrical  vibrations,  which  these  spectacles 
concentrate  in  their  lenses  and  exhibit  to  the 
gaze  of  their  wearer,  as  I  have  explained." 

"It's  a  fine  idea,"  said  the  boy;  "who 
discovered  it?" 

"It  is  a  fact  that  has  always  existed,  but 
is  now  utilized  for  the  first  time." 

"Oh!"  said  Rob. 

"With  these  gifts,  and  the  ones  you  ac 
quired  a  week  ago,  you  are  now  equipped 
to  astound  the  world  and  awaken  mankind 
to  a  realization  of  the  wonders  that  may  be 
accomplished  by  natural  forces.  See  that 
you  employ  these  powers  wisely,  in  the  in 
terests  of  science,  and  do  not  forget  your 
promise  to  exhibit  your  electrical  marvels 
only  to  those  who  are  most  capable  of  com 
prehending  them." 

"I'll  remember,"  said  Rob. 

"Then  adieu  until  a  week  from  to-day, 


95 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

when  I  will  meet  you  here  at  this  hour  and 
bestow  upon  you  the  last  three  gifts  which 
you  are  entitled  to  receive.  Good-by!" 

"Good-by!"  repeated  Rob,  and  in  a  gor 
geous  flash  of  color  the  Demon  disappeared, 
leaving  the  boy  alone  in  the  room  with  his 
new  and  wonderful  possessions. 


CHAPTER  NINE 

THE  SECOND  JOURNEY 

BY  this  time  you  will  have  gained  a 
fair  idea  of  Rob's  character.  He  is, 
in  truth,  a  typical  American  boy,  possessing 
an  average  intelligence  not  yet  regulated 
by  the  balance-wheel  of  experience.  The 
mysteries  of  electricity  were  so  attractive 
to  his  eager  nature  that  he  had  devoted 
considerable  time  and  some  study  to  electri 
cal  experiment;  but  his  study  was  the  super 
ficial  kind  that  seeks  to  master  only  such 
details  as  may  be  required  at  the  moment. 
Moreover,  he  was  full  of  boyish  reckless 
ness  and  irresponsibility  and  therefore  diffi- 

97 


THE  MASTER  KET 

cult  to  impress  with  the  dignity  of  science 
and  the  gravity  of  human  existence.  Life, 
to  him,  was  a  great  theater  wherein  he  saw 
himself  the  most  interesting  if  not  the  most 
important  actor,  and  so  enjoyed  the  play 
with  unbounded  enthusiasm. 

Aside  from  the  extraordinary  accident 
which  had  forced  the  Electrical  Demon  into 
his  life,  Rob  may  be  considered  one  of  those 
youngsters  who  might  possibly  develop  into 
a  brilliant  manhood  or  enter  upon  an  ordi 
nary,  humdrum  existence,  as  Fate  should 
determine.  Just  at  present  he  had  no 
thought  beyond  the  passing  hour,  nor  would 
he  bother  himself  by  attempting  to  look 
ahead  or  plan  for  the  future. 

Yet  the  importance  of  his  electrical  pos 
sessions  and  the  stern  injunction  of  the  De 
mon  to  use  them  wisely  had  rendered  the 
boy  more  thoughtful  than  at  any  previous 
time  during  his  brief  life,  and  he  became 
so  preoccupied  at  the  dinner  table  that  his 


98 


THE  SECOND  JOURNEY 

father  and  mother  cast  many  anxious  looks 
in  his  direction. 

Of  course  Rob  was  anxious  to  test  his 
newly-acquired  powers,  and  decided  to  lose 
no  time  in  starting  upon  another  journey. 
But  he  said  nothing  to  any  of  the  family 
about  it,  fearing  to  meet  with  opposition. 

He  passed  the  evening  in  the  sitting-room, 
in  company  with  his  father  and  mother  and 
sisters,  and  even  controlled  his  impatience 
to  the  extent  of  playing  a  game  of  carom 
with  Nell;  but  he  grew  so  nervous  and 
impatient  at  last  that  his  sister  gave  up  the 
game  in  disgust  and  left  him  to  his  own 
amusement. 

At  one  time  he  thought  of  putting  on  the 
electric  spectacles  and  seeing  what  the  real 
character  of  each  member  of  his  family 
might  be;  but  a  sudden  fear  took  posses 
sion  of  him  that  he  might  regret  the  act 
forever  afterward.  They  were  his  nearest 
and  dearest  friends  on  earth,  and  in  his 


99 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

boyish  heart  he  loved  them  all  and  believed 
in  their  goodness  and  sincerity.  The  pos 
sibility  of  finding  a  bad  character  mark  on 
any  of  their  familiar  faces  made  him  shud 
der,  and  he  determined  then  and  there 
never  to  use  the  spectacles  to  view  the  face 
of  a  friend  or  relative.  Had  any  one,  at 
that  moment,  been  gazing  at  Rob  through 
the  lenses  of  the  wonderful  Character 
Marker,  I  am  sure  a  big  "W"  would  have 
been  found  upon  the  boy's  forehead. 

When  the  family  circle  broke  up,  and  all 
retired  for  the  night,  Rob  kissed  his  parents 
and  sisters  with  real  affection  before  going 
to  his  own  room.  But,  on  reaching  his 
cozy  little  chamber,  instead  of  preparing 
for  bed  Rob  clothed  himself  in  the  Garment 
of  Repulsion.  Then  he  covered  the  glit 
tering  Garment  with  his  best  summer  suit 
of  clothes,  which  effectually  concealed  it. 

He  now  looked  around  to  see  what  else 
he  should  take,  and  thought  of  an  umbrella, 
a  rain-coat,  a  book  or  two  to  read  during 
100 


THE  SECOND  JOUR NET 

the  journey,  and  several  things  besides;  but 
he  ended  by  leaving  them  all  behind. 

"  I  can't  be  loaded  down  with  so  much 
truck,"  he  decided;  "  and  I'm  going  into 
civilized  countries,  this  time,  where  I  can 
get  anything  I  need." 

However,  to  prevent  a  recurrence  of  the 
mistake  he  had  previously  made,  he  tore  a 
map  of  the  world  and  a  map  of  Europe 
from  his  geography,  and,  folding  them  up, 
placed  them  in  his  pocket.  He  also  took  a 
small  compass  that  had  once  been  a  watch- 
charm,  and,  finally,  the  contents  of  a  small 
iron  bank  that  opened  with  a  combina 
tion  lock.  This  represented  all  his  sav 
ings,  amounting  to  two  dollars  and  seven 
teen  cents  in  dimes,  nickles  and  pennies. 

"  It  isn't  a  fortune,"  he  thought,  as  he 
counted  it  up,  "  but  I  didn't  need  any 
money  the  last  trip,  so  perhaps  I'll  get 
along  somehow.  I  don't  like  to  tackle 
dad  for  more,  for  he  might  ask  questions 
and  try  to  keep  me  at  home." 
101 


THE  MASTER  KET 

By  the  time  he  had  finished  his  prepara 
tions  and  stowed  all  his  electrical  belong 
ings  in  his  various  pockets,  it  was  nearly 
midnight  and  the  house  was  quiet.  So  Rob 
stole  down  stairs  in  his  stocking  feet  and 
noiselessly  opened  the  back  door. 

It  was  a  beautiful  July  night  and,  in 
addition  to  the  light  of  the  full  moon,  the 
sky  was  filled  with  the  radiance  of  count 
less  thousands  of  brilliant  stars. 

After  Rob  had  put  on  his  shoes  he  un 
folded  the  map,  which  was  plainly  visible 
by  the  starlight,  and  marked  the  direction 
he  must  take  to  cross  the  Atlantic  and  reach 
London,  his  first  stopping  place.  Then  he 
consulted  his  compass,  put.  the  indicator  of 
his  traveling  machine  to  the  word  "up," 
and  shot  swiftly  into  the  air.  When  he 
had  reached  a  sufficient  height  he  placed 
the  indicator  to  a  point  north  of  east  and, 
with  a  steady  and  remarkably  swift  flight, 
began  his  journey. 

"  Here  goes,"  he  remarked,  with  a  sense 
102 


THE  SECOND  JOUR NET 

of  exaltation,  "  for  another  week  of  advent 
ure!  I  wonder  what'll  happen  between 
now  and  next  Saturday." 


103 


CHAPTER  TEN 

HOW  ROB  SERVED  A  MIGHTY  KING 

THE    new  traveling    machine    was    a 
distinct    improvement    over  the   old 
one,    for  it   carried    Rob    with    wonderful 
speed  across  the  broad  Atlantic. 

He  fell   asleep   soon  after  starting,   and 
only  wakened  when  the  sun  was  high  in 
the  heavens.     But  he  found  himself  whirl 
ing  along  at  a  good  rate,  with  the  greenish 
shimmer  of  the  peaceful  ocean  waves  spread 
beneath  him  far  beyond  his  range  of  vision. 
Being  in  the  track  of  the  ocean  steamers 
it  was  not   long  before    he    found  himself 
overtaking    a    magnificent     vessel     whose 
104 


HO  W  R  OB  SER  VED  A  KING 

decks  were  crowded  with  passengers.  He 
dropped  down  some  distance,  to  enable 
him  to  see  these  people  more  plainly,  and 
while  he  hovered  near  he  could  hear  the 
excited  exclamations  of  the  passengers,  who 
focused  dozens  of  marine  glasses  upon  his 
floating  form.  This  inspection  somewhat 
embarrassed  him,  and  having  no  mind  to 
be  stared  at  he  put  on  additional  speed  and 
soon  left  the  steamer  far  behind  him. 

About  noon  the  sky  clouded  over,  and 
Rob  feared  a  rainstorm  was  approaching. 
So  he  rose  to  a  point  considerably  beyond 
the  clouds,  where  the  air  was  thin  but  re 
markably  pleasant  to  inhale  and  the  rays 
of  the  sun  were  not  so  hot  as  when  reflected 
by  the  surface  of  the  water. 

He  could  see  the  dark  clouds  rolling  be 
neath  him  like  volumes  of  smoke  from  a 
factory  chimney,  and  knew  the  earth  was 
catching  a  severe  shower  of  rain;  yet  he 
congratulated  himself  on  his  foresight  in 
not  being  burdened  with  umbrella  or  rain- 
105 


THE  MASTER  K ET 

coat,  since    his  elevated  position   rendered 
him  secure  from  rain-clouds. 

But,  having  cut  himself  off  from  the 
earth,  there  remained  nothing  to  see  except 
the  clear  sky  overhead  and  the  tumbling 
clouds  beneath;  so  he  took  from  his  pocket 
the  Automatic  Record  of  Events,  and 
watched  with  breathless  interest  the  inci 
dents  occurring  in  different  parts  of  the 
world.  A  big  battle  was  being  fought  in 
the  Philippines,  and  so  fiercely  was  it  con 
tested  that  Rob  watched  its  progress  for 
hours,  with  rapt  attention.  Finally  a  brave 
rally  by  the  Americans  sent  their  foes  to  the 
cover  of  the  woods,  where  they  scattered  in 
every  direction,  only  to  form  again  in  a 
deep  valley  hidden  by  high  hills. 

If  only    I   was  there,"    thought  Rob, 

I  could  show  that  captain  where  to  find 
the  rebels  and  capture  them.  But  I  guess 
the  Philippines  are  rather  out  of  my  way, 
so  our  soldiers  will  never  know  how  near 
they  are  to  a  complete  victory." 
1 06 


u 
It 


HO  W  ROB  SER  VED  A  KING 

The  boy  also  found  considerable  amuse 
ment  in  watching  the  course  of  an  insurrec 
tion  in  Venezuela,  where  opposing  armies 
of  well-armed  men  preferred,  to  bluster  and 
threaten  rather  than  come  to  blows. 

During  the  evening  he  found  that  an 
"important  event"  was  Madame  Bern- 
hardt's  production  of  a  new  play,  and  Rob 
followed  it  from  beginning  to  end  with  great 
enjoyment,  although  he  felt  a  bit  guilty  at 
not  having  purchased  a  ticket. 

"But  it's  a  crowded  house,  anyway,"  he 
reflected,  "and  I'm  not  taking  up  a  reserved 
seat  or  keeping  anv  one  else  from  seeing  the 
show.  So  where's  the  harm?  Yet  it  seems 
to  me  if  these  Records  get  to  be  common, 
as  the  Demon  wishes,  people  will  all  stay 
at  home  and  see  the  shows,  and  the  poor 
actors  '11  starve  to  death." 

The  thought  made  him  uneasy,  and  he 
began,    for  the  first    time,  to    entertain    a 
doubt  of   the  Demon's  wisdom  in  forcing 
such  devices  upon  humanity. 
107 


THE  MASTER  KEY 


The  clouds  had  now  passed  away  and 
the  moon  sent  her  rays  to  turn  the  edges  of 
the  waves  into  glistening  showers  of  jewels. 

Rob  closed  the  lid  of  the  wonderful  Rec 
ord  of  Events  and  soon  fell  into  a  deep 
sleep  that  held  him  unconscious  for  many 
hours. 

When  he  awoke  he  gave  a  start  of  sur 
prise,  for  beneath  him  was  land.  How 
long  it  was  since  he  had  left  the  ocean  be 
hind  him  he  could  not  guess,  but  his  first 
thought  was  to  set  the  indicator  of  the  trav 
eling  machine  to  zero  and  to  hover  over 
the  country  until  he  could  determine  where 
he  was. 

This  was  no  easy  matter.  He  saw  green 
fields,  lakes,  groves  and  villages;  but  these 
might  exist  in  any  country.  Being  still  at  a 
great  elevation  he  descended  gradually  until 
he  was  about  twenty  feet  from  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  where  he  paused  near  the  edge 
of  a  small  village. 

At  once  a  crowd  of  excited  people  assem- 
108 


A  man  rushed  toward  it,  but  the  next  moment  he  threw 
up  his  hands  and  fell  unconscious 


HO  W  ROB  SERVED  A  KING 

bled,  shouting  to  one  another  and  pointing 
towards  him  in  wonder.  In  order  to  be  pre 
pared  for  emergencies  Rob  had  taken  the 
electric  tube  from  his  pocket,  and  now,  as 
he  examined  the  dress  and  features  of  the 
people  below,  the  tube  suddenly  slipped 
from  his  grasp  and  fell  to  the  ground,  where 
one  end  stuck  slantingly  into  the  soft  earth. 

A  man  rushed  eagerly  towards  it,  but  the 
next  moment  he  threw  up  his  hands  and  fell 
upon  his  back,  unconscious.  Others  who 
ran  to  assist  their  fallen  comrade  quickly 
tumbled  into  a  heap  beside  him. 

It  was  evident  to  Rob  that  the  tube  had 
fallen  in  such  a  position  that  the  button  was 
being  pressed  continually  and  a  current  of 
electric  fluid  issued  to  shock  whoever  came 
near.  Not  wishing  to  injure  these  people 
he  dropped  to  the  ground  and  drew  the  tube 
from  the  earth,  thus  releasing  the  pressure 
upon  the  button. 

But  the  villagers  had  now  decided  that  the 
boy  was  their  enemy,  and  no  sooner  had  he 
109 


THE  MA  S  TER  KET 

touched  the  ground  than  a  shower  of  stones 
and  sticks  rained  about  him.  Not  one 
reached  his  body,  however,  for  the  Garment 
of  Repulsion  stopped  their  flight  and  re 
turned  them  to  rattle  with  more  or  less 
force  against  those  who  had  thrown  them — 
"like  regular  boomerangs,"  thought  Rob. 

To  receive  their  own  blows  in  this  fashion 
seemed  so  like  magic  to  the  simple  folk 
that  with  roars  of  fear  and  pain  they  ran 
away  in  all  directions. 

u  It's  no  use  stopping  here,"  remarked 
Rob,  regretfully,  "  for  I've  spoiled  my  wel 
come  by  this  accident.  I  think  these  peo 
ple  are  Irish,  by  their  looks  and  speech,  so 
I  must  be  somewhere  in  the  Emerald  Isle." 

He  consulted  his  map  and  decided  upon 
the  general  direction  he  should  take  to  reach 
England,  after  which  he  again  rose  into  the 
air  and  before  long  was  passing  over  the 
channel  towards  the  shores  of  England. 

Either  his  map  or  compass  or  his  calcula 
tions  proved  wrong,  for  it  was  high  noon 
1 10 


HOW  ROB  SERVED  A  KING 

before,  having  changed  his  direction  a  half 
dozen  times,  he  came  to  the  great  city  of 
London,  v  He  saw  at  a  glance  that  it  would 
never  do  to  drop  into  the  crowded  streets, 
unless  he  wanted  to  become  an  object  of 
public  curiosity;  so  he  looked  around  for  a 
suitable  place  to  alight. 

Near  by  was  a  monstrous  church  that 
sent  a  sharp  steeple  far  into  the  air.  Rob 
examined  this  spire  and  saw  a  narrow  open 
ing  in  the  masonry  that  led  to  a  small  room 
where  a  chime  of  bells  hung.  He  crept 
through  the  opening  and,  finding  a  ladder 
that  connected  the  belfry  with  a  platform 
below,  began  to  descend. 

There  were  three  ladders,  and  then  a 
winding  flight  of  narrow,  rickety  stairs  to 
be  passed  before  Rob  finally  reached  a 
small  room  in  the  body  of  the  church.  This 
room  proved  to  have  two  doors,  one  con 
necting  with  the  auditorium  and  the  other 
letting  into  a  side  street.  Both  were 
locked,  but  Rob  pointed  the  electric  tube  at 
1 1 1 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

the  outside  door  and  broke  the  lock  in  an 
instant.  Then  he  walked  into  the  street  as 
composedly  as  if  he  had  lived  all  his  life  in 
London. 

There  were  plenty  of  sights  to  see,  you 
may  be  sure,  and  Rob  walked  around  until 
he  was  so  tired  that  he  was  glad  to  rest 
upon  one  of  the  benches  in  a  beautiful  park. 
Here,  half  hidden  by  the  trees,  he  amused 
himself  by  looking  at  the  Record  of  Events. 

66  London's  a  great  town,  and  no  mis 
take,"  he  said  to  himself;  "  but  let's  see 
what  the  British  are  doing  in  South  Africa 
to-day." 

He  turned  the  cylinder  to ' ' South  Africa, ' ' 
and,  opening  the  lid,  at  once  became  inter 
ested.  An  English  column,  commanded  by 
a  brave  but  stubborn  officer,  was  surrounded 
by  the  Boer  forces  and  fighting  desperately 
to  avoid  capture  or  annihilation. 

u  This  would  be  interesting  to  King  Ed 
ward,"  thought  the  boy.    "  Guess  I'll  hunt 
him  up  and  tell  him  about  it," 
ua 


HO  W  ROB  SERVED  A  KING 

A  few  steps  away  stood  a  policeman. 
Rob  approached  him  and  asked: 

"  Where's  the  king  to-day  ?" 

The  officer  looked  at  him  with  mingled 
surprise  and  suspicion. 

"  'Is  Majesty  is  sojournin'  at  Marlb'ro 
'Ouse,  just  now,"  was  the  reply.  "Per'aps 
you  wants  to  make  'im  a  wissit,"  he  con 
tinued,  with  lofty  sarcasm. 

"That's  it,  exactly,"  said  Rob.  "I'm  an 
American,  and  thought  while  I  was  in  Lon 
don  I'd  drop  in  on  His  Royal  Highness 
and  say  'hello'  to  him." 

The  officer  chuckled,  as  if  much  amused. 

"Hamericans  is  bloomin'  green,"  he  re 
marked,  "so  youse  can  stand  for  Hameri- 
can,  right  enough.  No  other  wissitors  is 
such  blarsted  fools.  But  yon's  the  palace, 
an'  I  s'pose  'is  Majesty '11  give  ye  a  'ot  re 
ception." 

"Thanks;  I'll  look  him  up,"  said  the 
boy,  and  left  the  officer  convulsed  with 
laughter, 

113 


THE  MASTER  KET 

He  soon  knew  why.  The  palace  was 
surrounded  by  a  cordon  of  the  king's  own 
life  guards,  who  admitted  no  one  save  those 
who  presented  proper  credentials. 

6 'There's  only  one  thing  to  do;"  thought 
Rob,  "  and  that's  to  walk  straight  in,  as  I 
haven't  any  friends  to  give  me  a  regular  in 
troduction." 

So  he  boldly  advanced  to  the  gate,  where 
he  found  himself  stopped  by  crossed  car 
bines  and  a  cry  of  "Halt!" 

"Excuse  me,"  said  Rob;  "I'm  in  a  hur 
ry." 

He  pushed  the  carbines  aside  and  marched 
on.  The  soldiers  made  thrusts  at  him  with 
their  weapons,  and  an  officer  jabbed  at  his 
breast  with  a  glittering  sword,  but  the  Gar 
ment  of  Repulsion  protected  him  from  these 
dangers  as  well  as  from  a  hail  of  bullets  that 
followed  his  advancing  figure. 

He  reached  the  entrance  of  the  palace 
only  to  face  another  group  of  guardsmen 
and  a  second  order  to  halt,  and  as  these  sol- 
114 


Rob  reached  the  entrance  of  the  palace,  only  to  face 
another  group  of  guardsmen 


HO  W  ROB  SER  VED  A  KING 

diers  were  over  six  feet  tall  and  stood 
shoulder  to  shoulder  Rob  saw  that  he  could 
not  hope  to  pass  them  without  using  his 
electric  tube. 

"Stand   aside,  you  fellows!"  he  ordered. 

There  was  no  response.  He  extended 
the  tube  and,  as  he  pressed  the  button,  de 
scribed  a  semi-circle  with  the  instrument. 
Immediately  the  tall  guardsmen  toppled 
over  like  so  many  tenpins,  and  Rob  stepped 
across  their  bodies  and  penetrated  to  the  re 
ception  room,  where  a  brilliant  assemblage 
awaited,  in  hushed  and  anxious  groups,  foi 
opportunity  to  obtain  audience  with  the 
king. 

"I  hope  his  Majesty  isn't  busy,"  said  Rob 
to  a  solemn-visaged  official  who  confronted 
him.  "I  want  to  have  a  little  talk  with 
him." 

"I — I — ah — beg  pardon!"  exclaimed  the 
astounded  master  of  ceremonies.  "What 
name,  please?" 

"Oh,    never  mind    my    name,"    replied 


THE  MASTER  KET 

Rob,  and  pushing  the  gentleman  aside  he 
entered  the  audience  chamber  of  the  great 
king. 

King  Edward  was  engaged  in  earnest  con 
sultation  with  one  of  his  ministers,  and  after 
a  look  of  surprise  in  Rob's  direction  and  a 
grave  bow  he  bestowed  no  further  attention 
upon  the  intruder. 

But  Rob  was  not  to  be  baffled  now. 

"Your  Majesty,"  he  interrupted,  "I've 
important  news  for  you.  A  big  fight  is 
taking  place  in  South  Africa  and  your  sol 
diers  will  probably  be  cut  into  mince  meat." 

The  minister  strode  towards  the  boy 
angrily. 

"Explain  this  intrusion!"  he  cried. 

"I  have  explained.  The  Boers  are  hav 
ing  a  regular  killing-bee.  Here!  take  a 
look  at  it  yourselves." 

He  drew   the  Record  from   his  pocket, 

and  at  the  movement  the  minister  shrank 

back  as  if  he  suspected  it  was  an  infernal 

machine  and  might  blow  his  head  off;  but 

116 


HO  W  ROB  SER  VED  A  KING 

the  king  stepped  quietly  to  the  boy's  side 
and  looked  into  the  box  when  Rob  threw 
open  the  lid. 

As  he  comprehended  the  full  wonder  of 
the  phenomenon  he  was  observing  Edward 
uttered  a  low  cry  of  amazement,  but  there 
after  he  silently  gazed  upon  the  fierce  battle 
that  still  raged  far  away  upon  the  African 
veld.  Before  long  his  keen  eye  recognized 
the  troops  engaged  and  realized  their  im 
minent  danger. 

<  'They'll  be  utterly  annihilated!"  he 
gasped.  "What  shall  we  do?" 

"Oh,  we  can't  do  anything  just  now," 
answered  Rob.  "But  it's  curious  to  watch 
how  bravely  the  poor  fellows  fight  for  their 
lives." 

The  minister,  who  by  this  time  was  also 
peering  into  the  box,  groaned  aloud,  and 
then  all  three  forgot  their  surroundings  in 
the  tragedy  they  were  beholding. 

Hemmed  in  by  vastly  superior  num 
bers,  the  English  were  calmly  and  stub- 
117 


THE  MASTER  KE7 


bornly  resisting  every  inch  of  advance  and 
selling  their  lives  as  dearly  as  possible. 
Their  leader  fell  pierced  by  a  hundred  bul 
lets,  and  the  king,  who  had  known  him 
from  boyhood,  passed  his  hand  across  his 
eyes  as  if  to  shut  out  the  awful  sight.  But 
the  fascination  of  the  battle  forced  him  to 
look  again,  and  the  next  moment  he  cried 
aloud: 

" Look  there!   Look  there!" 

Over  the  edge  of  a  line  of  hills  appeared 
the  helmets  of  a  file  of  English  soldiers .  They 
reached  the  summit,  followed  by  rank  after 
rank,  until  the  hillside  was  alive  with  them. 
And  then,  with  a  ringing  cheer  that  came 
like  a  faint  echo  to  the  ears  of  the  three 
watchers,  they  broke  into  a  run  and  dashed 
forward  to  the  rescue  of  their  brave  com 
rades.  The  Boers  faltered,  gave  back,  and 
the  next  moment  fled  precipitately,  while 
the  exhausted  survivors  of  the  courageous 
band  fell  sobbing  into  the  arms  of  their 
rescuers. 

118 


HOW  ROB  SERVED  A  KING 

Rob  closed  the  lid  of  the  Record  with  a 
sudden  snap  that  betrayed  his  deep  feeling, 
and  the  king  pretended  to  cough  behind  his 
handkerchief  and  stealthily  wiped  his  eyes. 

"  'Twasn't  so  bad,  after  all,"  remarked 
the  boy,  with  assumed  cheerfulness;  "  but 
it  looked  mighty  ticklish  for  your  men  at 


one  time.' 


King  Edward  regarded  the  boy  curiously, 
remembering  his  abrupt  entrance  and  the 
marvelous  device  he  had  exhibited. 

"What  do  you  call  that?"  he  asked, 
pointing  at  the  Record  with  a  finger  that 
trembled  slightly  from  excitement. 

"  It  is  a  new  electrical  invention,"  replied 
Rob,  replacing  it  in  his  pocket,  "and  so 
constructed  that  events  are  reproduced  at  the 
exact  moment  they  occur." 

"Where can  I  purchase  one?"  demanded 
the  king,  eagerly. 

"They're  not  for  sale,"  said  Rob.  "This 
one  of  mine  is  the  first  thatever  happened." 

"Oh!" 

119 


THE  MA  S  TER  KET 

"  I  really  think,"  continued  the  boy, 
nodding  sagely,  "that  it  wouldn't  be  well 
to  have  these  Records  scattered  around. 
Their  use  would  give  some  folks  unfair  ad 
vantage  over  others,  you  know." 

"  Certainly." 

"  I  only  showed  you  this  battle  because 
I  happened  to  be  in  London  at  the  time 
and  thought  you'd  be  interested." 

"  It  was  very  kind  of  you,"  said  Edward; 
"  but  how  did  you  gain  admittance?" 

"  Well,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  was  obliged 
to  knock  over  a  few  of  your  tall  life-guards. 
They  seem  to  think  you're  a  good  thing 
and  need  looking  after,  like  jam  in  a  cup 
board." 

The  king  smiled. 

"  I  hope  you  haven't  killed  my  guards," 
said  he. 

"  Oh,  no;  they'll  come  around  all  right." 

"It  is  necessary,"  continued  Edward, 
"  that  public  men  be  protected  from  intru 
sion,  no  matter  how  democratic  they  may  be 
120 


HO  W  ROB  SERVED  A  KING 

personally.  You  would  probably  find  it  as 
difficult  to  approach  the  President  of  the 
United  States  as  the  King  of  England." 

"  Oh,  I'm  not  complaining,"  said  Rob. 
"  It  wasn't  much  trouble  to  break  through." 

"  You  seem  quite  young  to  have  mastered 
such  wonderful  secrets  of  Nature, "'contin 
ued  the  king. 

"  So  I  am,"  replied  Rob,  modestly; 
"  but  these  natural  forces  have  really  ex 
isted  since  the  beginning  of  the  world,  and 
some  one  was  sure  to  discover  them  in 
time."  He  was  quoting  the  Demon,  al 
though  unconsciously. 

"  You  are  an  American,  I  suppose,"  said 
the  minister,  coming  close  tc  Rob  and  star 
ing  him  in  the  face. 

"  Guessed  right  the  first  time,"  answered 
the  boy,  and  drawing  his  Character  Mark 
ing  spectacles  from  his  pocket,  he  put  them 
on  and  stared  at  the  minister  in  turn. 

Upon  the  man's  forehead  appeared  the 
letter  "  E." 

121 


THE  MASTER  KET 

"Your  Majesty,"  said  Rob,  "  I  have 
here  another  queer  invention.  Will  you 
please  wear  these  spectacles  for  a  few  mo 
ments?" 

The  king  at  once  put  them  on. 

"  They  are  called  Character  Markers," 
continued  the  boy,  "because  the  lenses 
catch  and  concentrate  the  character  vibra 
tions  radiating  from  every  human  individual 
and  reflect  the  true  character  of  the  person 
upon  his  forehead,,  If  a  letter  'G'  appears, 
you  may  be  sure  his  disposition  is  good;  if 
his  forehead  is  marked  with  an  4E'  his 
character  is  evil,  and  you  must  beware  of 
treachery." 

The  king  saw  the  "E"  plainly  marked 
upon  his  minister's  forehead,  but  he  said 
nothing  except  "Thank  you,"  and  returned 
the  spectacles  to  Rob. 

But  the  minister,  who  from  the  first  had 
been  ill  at  ease,  now  became  positively 
angry. 

"  Do  not  believe  him,  your  Majesty!" 
122 


HO  W  ROB  SERVED  A  KING 

he  cried.  "It  is  a  trick,  and  meant  to  de 
ceive  you." 

"  I  did  not  accuse  you,"  answered  the 
king,  sternly.  Then  he  added:  "  I  wish 
to  be  alone  with  this  young  gentleman." 

The  minister  left  the  room  with  an  anx 
ious  face  and  hanging  head. 

"Now,"  said  Rob,  "  let's  look  over  the 
record  of  the  past  day  and  see  if  that  fellow 
has  been  up  to  any  mischief." 

He  turned  the  cylinder  of  the  Record  to 
"England,"  and  slowly  the  events  of  the 
last  twenty-four  hours  were  reproduced, 
one  after  the  other,  upon  the  polished  plate. 

Before  long  the  king  uttered  an  exclama 
tion.  The  Record  pictured  a  small  room 
in  which  were  seated  three  gentlemen  en 
gaged  in  earnest  conversation.  One  of  them 
was  the  accused  minister. 

"  Those  men,"  said  the   king  in   a   low 

voice,  while  he  pointed  out  the  other  two, 

"are  my  avowed  enemies.    This  is  proof  that 

your  wonderful  spectacles  indicated  my  min- 

123 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

ister's  character  with  perfect  truth.  I  am 
grateful  to  you  for  thus  putting  me  upon 
my  guard,  for  I  have  trusted  the  man 
fully." 

"  Oh,  don't  mention  it,"  replied  the  boy, 
lightly;  "I'm  glad  to  have  been  of  service 
to  you.  But  it's  time  for  me  to  go." 

"  I  hope  you  will  favor  me  with  another 
interview,"  said  the  king,  "  for  I  am  much 
interested  in  your  electrical  inventions.  I 
will  instruct  my  guards  to  admit  you  at  any 
time,  so  you  will  not  be  obliged  to  fight 
your  way  in." 

"All  right.  But  it  really  doesn't  matter," 
answered  Rob.  "  It's  no  trouble  at  all  to 
knock  'em  over." 

Then  he  remembered  his  manners  and 
bowed  low  before  the  king,  who  seemed  to 
liim  "  a  fine  fellow  and  not  a  bit  stuck  up." 
And  then  he  walked  calmly  from  the  pal 
ace. 

The  people  in  the  outer  room  stared  at 
him  wonderingly  and  the  officer  of  the 
124 


HO  W  R  OB  SER  VED  A  KING 

guard  saluted  the  boy  respectfully.  But 
Rob  only  smiled  in  an  amused  way  as  he 
marched  past  them  with  his  hands  thrust 
deep  into  his  trousers'  pockets  and  his  straw 
hat  tipped  jauntily  upon  the  back  of  his 
head. 


125 


CHAPTER  ELEVEN 

THE  MAN  OF  SCIENCE 

ROB  passed  the  remainder  of  the  clay 
wandering  about  London  and  amus 
ing  himself  by  watching  the  peculiar  ways 
of  the  people.     When   it  became  so  dark 
that  there  was  no  danger  of  his  being  ob 
served,  he  rose  through  the   air  to  the  nar 
row  slit  in  the  church   tower  and  lay  upon 
the  floor  of  the  little  room,  with  the  bells 
hanging  all  around  him,  to  pass  the    night. 
He  was  just  falling   asleep  when  a  tre 
mendous    din    and  clatter  nearly  deafened 
him,  and  set  the  whole  tower    trembling. 
It  was  the  midnight  chime. 
126 


THE  MAN  OF  SCIENCE 

Rob  clutched  his  ears  tightly,  and  when 
the  vibrations  had  died  away  descended  by 
the  ladder  to  a  lower  platform.  But  even 
here  the  next  hourly  chime  made  his  ears 
ring,  and  he  kept  descending  from  platform 
to  platform  until  the  last  half  of  a  restless 
night  was  passed  in  the  little  room  at  the 
bottom  of  the  tower. 

When,  at  daylight,  the  boy  sat  up 
and  rubbed  his  eyes,  he  said,  wearily: 
"  Churches  are  all  right  as  churches;  but 
as  hotels  they  are  rank  failures.  I  ought  to 
have  bunked  in  with  my  friend,  King  Ed 
ward." 

He  climbed  up  the  stairs  and  the  ladders 
again  and  looked  out  the  little  window  in 
the  belfry.  Then  he  examined  his  map 
of  Europe. 

"  I  believe  I'll  take  a  run  over  to  Paris," 
he  thought.  "  I  must  be  home  again  by 
Saturday,  to  meet  the  Demon,  so  I'll  have 
to  make  every  day  count." 

Without  waiting  for  breakfast,  since  he 
127 


THE  MA  S  TER  KEY 

had  eaten  a  tablet  the  evening  before,  he 
crept  through  the  window  and  mounted 
into  the  fresh  morning  air  until  the  great 
city  with  its  broad  waterway  lay  spread  out 
beneath  him.  Then  he  sped  away  to  the 
southeast  and,  crossing  the  channel,  passed 
between  Amiens  and  Rouen  and  reached 
Paris  before  ten  o'clock. 

Near  the  outskirts  of  the  city  appeared  a 
high  tower,  upon  the  flat  roof  of  which  a 
man  was  engaged  in  adjusting  a  telescope. 
Upon  seeing  Rob,  who  was  passing  at  no 
great  distance  from  this  tower,  the  man 
cried  out: 

6  ^Approchez  ! —  Venez  id ! ' ' 

Then  he  waved  his  hands  frantically  in 
the  air,  and  fairly  danced  with  excitement. 
So  the  boy  laughed  and  dropped  down  to 
the  roof  where,  standing  beside  the  French 
man,  whose  eyes  were  actually  protruding 
from  their  sockets,  he  asked,  coolly: 

"Well,  what  do  you  want?" 

The  other  was  for  a  moment  speechless. 
128 


The  eyes  of  the  Frenchman  were  actually  protruding1 
from  their  sockets 


THE  MA  N  OF  SCIENCE 

He  was  a  tall,  lean  man,  having  a  bald  head 
but  a  thick,  iron-gray  beard,  and  his  black 
eyes  sparkled  brightly  from  behind  a  pair  of 
gold-rimmed  spectacles.  After  attentively 
regarding  the  boy  for  a  time  he  said,  in 
broken  English: 

"But,  M'sieur,  how  can  you  fly  wizout  ze 
— ze  machine?  I  have  experiment  myself 
wiz  some  air-ship;  but  you — zere  is  nossing 
to  make  go!" 

Rob  guessed  that  here  was  his  opportu 
nity  to  do  the  Demon  a  favor  by  explaining 
his  electrical  devices  to  this  new  acquaint 
ance,  who  was  evidently  a  man  of  science. 

"Here  is  the  secret,  Professor,"  he  said, 
and  holding  out  his  wrist  displayed  the  trav 
eling  machine  and  explained,  as  well  as  he 
could,  the  forces  that  operated  it. 

The  Frenchman,  as  you  may  suppose, 
was  greatly  astonished,  and  to  show  how 
perfectly  the  machine  worked  Rob  turned 
the  indicator  and  rose  a  short  distance  above 
the  tower,  circling  around  it  before  he  re- 
129 


THE  MASTER  KET 

joined  the  professor  on  the  roof.  Then  he 
showed  his  food  tablets,  explaining  how 
each  was  stored  with  sufficient  nourishment 
for  an  entire  day. 

The  scientist  positively  gasped  for  breath, 
so  powerful  was  the  excitement  he  experi 
enced  at  witnessing  these  marvels. 

' '  Eet  is  wonderful — grand — magnifique ! ' ' 
he  exclaimed. 

"But  here  is  something  of  still  greater 
interest,"  continued  Rob,  and  taking  the 
Automatic  Record  of  Events  from  his  pocket 
he  allowed  the  professor  to  view  the  re 
markable  scenes  that  were  being  enacted 
throughout  the  civilized  world. 

The  Frenchman  was  now  trembling  vio 
lently,  and  he  implored  Rob  to  tell  him 
where  he  might  obtain  similar  electrical  ma 
chines. 

"I  can't  do  that,"  replied  the  boy,  decid 
edly;  "but,  having  seen  these,  you  maybe 
able  to  discover  their  construction  for  your 
self.  Now  that  you  know  such  things  to  be 

'3° 


THE  MAN  OF  SCIENCE 

possible  and  practical,  the  hint  should  be 
sufficient  to  enable  a  shrewd  electrician  to 
prepare  duplicates  of  them." 

The  scientist  glared  at  him  with  evident 
disappointment,  and  Rob  continued: 

"These  are  not  all  the  wonders  I  can  ex 
hibit.  Here  is  another  electrical  device  that 
is,  perhaps,  the  most  remarkable  of  any  I 
possess." 

He  took  the  Character  Marking  specta 
cles  from  his  pocket  and  fitted  them  to  his 
eyes.  Then  he  gave  a  whistle  of  surprise 
and  turned  his  back  upon  his  new  friend. 
He  had  seen  upon  the  Frenchman's  fore 
head  the  letters  "E"  and  "C." 

"  Guess  I've  struck  the  wrong  sort  of  sci 
entist,  after  all!"  he  muttered,  in  a  disgusted 
tone. 

His  companion  was  quick  to  prove  the 
accuracy  of  the  Character  Marker.  Seeing 
the  boy's  back  turned,  he  seized  a  long  iron 
bar  that  was  used  to  operate  the  telescope, 
and  struck  at  Rob  so  fiercely  that  had  he 


THE  MASTER  KEY 


not  worn  the  Garment  of  Protection  his 
skull  would  have  been  crushed  by  the  blow. 
As  it  was,  the  bar  rebounded  with  a  force 
that  sent  the  murderous  Frenchman  sprawl 
ing  upon  the  roof,  and  Rob  turned  around 
and  laughed  at  him. 

"  It  won't  work,  Professor,"  he  said. 
"I'm  proof  against  assassins.  Perhaps 
you  had  an  idea  that  when  you  had  killed 
me  you  could  rob  me  of  my  valuable  pos 
sessions'  but  they  wouldn't  be  a  particle  of 
use  to  a  scoundrel  like  you,  I  assure  you! 
Good  morning." 

Before  the  surprised  and  baffled  scientist 
could  collect  himself  sufficiently  to  reply, 
the  boy  was  soaring  far  above  his  head  and 
searching  for  a  convenient  place  to  alight, 
that  he  might  investigate  the  charms  of  this 
famed  city  of  Paris. 

It  was  indeed  a  beautiful  place,  with 
many  stately  buildings  lining  the  shady 
boulevards.  So  thronged  were  the  streets 


132 


THE  MAN  OF  SCIENCE 

that  Rob  well  knew  he  would  soon  be  the 
center  of  a  curious  crowd  should  he  alight 
upon  them.  Already  a  few  sky-gazers  had 
noted  the  boy  moving  high  in  the  air,  above 
their  heads,  and  one  or  two  groups  stood 
pointing  their  fingers  at  him. 

Pausing  at  length  above  the  imposing 
structure  of  the  Hotel  Anglais,  Rob  no 
ticed  at  one  of  the  upper  floors  an  open 
window,  before  which  was  a  small  iron  bal 
cony.  Alighting  upon  this  he  proceeded  to 
enter,  without  hesitation,  the  open  window. 
He  heard  a  shriek  and  a  cry  of  "Auvo- 
leur!"  and  caught  sight  of  a  woman's  fig 
ure  as  she  dashed  into  an  adjoining  room, 
slamming  and  locking  the  door  behind  her. 

"  I  don't  know  as  I  blame  her,"  ob 
served  Rob,  with  a  smile  at  the  panic  he 
had  created.  "  I  s'pose  she  takes  me  for  a 
burglar,  and  thinks  I've  climbed  up  the 
lightning  rod." 

He  soon  found  the  door  leading  into  the 


133 


THE  MASTER  KE7 


hallway  and  walked  down  several  flights  of 
stairs  until  he  reached  the  office  of  the 
hotel. 

"  How  much  do  you  charge  a  day?"  he 
inquired,  addressing  a  fat  and  pompous- 
looking  gentleman  behind  the  desk. 

The  man  looked  at  him  in  a  surprised 
way,  for  he  had  not  heard  the  boy  enter  the 
room.  But  he  said  something  in  French  to 
a  waiter  who  was  passing,  and  the  latter 
came  to  Rob  and  made  a  low  bow. 

66  I  speak  ze  Eengliss  ver'  fine,"  he  said. 
"  What  desire  have  you?" 

"  What  are  your  rates  by  the  day?" 
asked  the  boy. 

"  Ten  francs,  M'sieur." 

"  How  many  dollars  is  that?" 

"Dollar  Americaine?" 

"Yes;  United  States  money." 

"Ah,  out  I  Eet  is  ze  two  dollar,  M'sieur." 

"All  right;  I  can  stay  about  a  day  before 
I  go  bankrupt.  Give  me  a  room." 


134 


THE  MAN  OF  SCIENCE 

"Ceffainenient)  M'sieur.  Have  you  ze 
luggage?" 

"No;  but  I'll  pay  in  advance,"  said  Rob, 
and  began  counting  out  his  dimes  and 
nickles  and  pennies,  to  the  unbounded 
amazement  of  the  waiter,  who  looked  as  if 
he  had  never  seen  such  coins  before. 

He  carried  the  money  to  the  fat  gentle 
man,  who  examined  the  pieces  curiously, 
and  there  was  a  long  conference  between 
them  before  it  was  decided  to  accept  them 
in  payment  for  a  room  for  a  day.  But  at 
this  season  the  hotel  was  almost  empty,  and 
when  Rob  protested  that  he  had  no  other 
money  the  fat  gentleman  put  the  coins  into 
his  cash  box  with  a  resigned  sigh  and  the 
waiter  showed  the  boy  to  a  little  room  at 
the  very  top  of  the  building. 

Rob  washed  and  brushed  the  dust  from 
his  clothes,  after  which  he  sat  down  and 
amused  himself  by  viewing  the  pictures 
that  constantly  formed  upon  the  polished 
plate  of  the  Record  of  Events. 

135 


CHAPTER  TWELVE 

HOW  ROB  SAVED  A  REPUBLIC. 

WHILE  following  the  shifting  scenes 
of  the  fascinating  Record  Rob  noted 
an  occurrence  that  caused  him  to  give  a  low 
whistle  of  astonishment  and  devote  several 
moments  to  serious  thought. 

"I  believe  it's  about  time  I  interfered 
with  the  politics  of  this  Republic,"  he  said, 
at  last,  as  he  closed  the  lid  of  the  metal  box 
and  restored  it  to  his  pocket.  "If  I  don't 
take  a  hand  there  probably  won't  be  a  Re 
public  of  France  very  long  and,  as  a  good 
American,  I  prefer  a  republic  to  a  mon 
archy." 

136 


HOW  ROB  SAVED  A   REPUBLIC 

Then  he  walked  down-stairs  and  found 
his  English-speaking  waiter. 

"Where's  President  Loubet?"  he  asked. 

"Ze  President!  Ah,  he  is  wiz  his  man 
sion.  To  be  at  his  residence,  M'sieur." 

" Where  is  his  residence?" 

The  waiter  began  a  series  of  voluble  and 
explicit  directions  which  so  confused  the 
boy  that  he  exclaimed: 

"Oh,  much  obliged!"  and  walked  away 
in  disgust. 

Gaining  the  street  he  approached  a  gen 
darme  and  repeated  his  question,  with  no 
better  result  than  before,  for  the  fellow 
waved  his  arms  wildly  in  all  directions  and 
roared  a  volley  of  incomprehensible  French 
phrases  that  conveyed  no  meaning  what 
ever. 

"If  ever  I  travel  in  foreign  countries 
again,"  said  Rob,  "I'll  learn  their  lingo  in 
advance.  Why  doesn't  the  Demon  get  up  a 
conversation  machine  that  will  speak  all 
languages?" 

137 


THE  MASTER  KET 

By  dint  of  much  inquiry,  however,  and 
after  walking  several  miles  following  am 
biguous  directions,  he  managed  to  reach 
the  residence  of  President  Loubet.  But 
there  he  was  politely  informed  that  the 
President  was  busily  engaged  in  his  garden, 
and  would  see  no  one. 

"That's  all  right,"  said  the  boy,  calmly. 
"If  he's  in  the  garden  I'll  have  no  trouble 
finding  him." 

Then,  to  the  amazement  of  the  French 
men,  Rob  shot  into  the  air  fifty  feet  or  so, 
from  which  elevation  he  overlooked  a  pretty 
garden  in  the  rear  of  the  President's  man 
sion.  The  place  was  protected  from  ordi 
nary  intrusion  b}  high  walls,  but  Rob  de 
scended  within  the  enclosure  and  walked  up 
to  a  man  who  was  writing  at  a  small  table 
placed  under  the  spreading  branches  of  a 
large  tree. 

"Is  this  President  Loubet?"  he  inquired, 
with  a  bow. 

The  gentleman  looked  up. 
138 


HO  W  ROB  SA  VED  A    REPUBLIC 

"My  servants  were  instructed  to  allow  no 
one  to  disturb  me,"  he  said,  speaking  in 
excellent  English. 

"It  isn't  their  fault;  I  flew  dyer  the  wall," 
returned  Rob.  "The  fact  is,"  he  added, 
hastily,  as  he  noted  the  President's  frown, 
"  I  have  come  to  save  the  Republic;  and  I 
haven't  much  time  to  waste  over  a  bundle  of 
Frenchmen,  either." 

The  President  seemed  surprised. 

"Your  name!"  he  demanded,  sharply. 

"  Robert  Billings  Joslyn,  United  States 
of  America!" 

"Your  business,  Monsieur  Joslyn!" 

Rob  drew  the  Record  from  his  pocket 
and  placed  it  upon  the  table. 

"This,  sir,"  said  he,  "is  an  electrical 
device  that  records  all  important  events.  I 
wish  to  call  your  attention  to  a  scene  en 
acted  in  Paris  last  evening  which  may  have 
an  effect  upon  the  future  history  of  your 
country." 

He  opened  the  lid,  placed  the  Record  so 

139 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

that  the  President  could  see  clearly,  and 
then  watched  the  changing  expressions 
upon  the  great  man's  face;  first  indifference, 
then  interest,  the  next  moment  eagerness 
and  amazement. 

"Mon  Dieu!"  he  gasped;  "  the  Orlean- 
istsl" 

Rob  nodded. 

"  Yes;  they've  worked  up  a  rather  pretty 
plot,  haven't  they?" 

The  President  did  not  reply.  He  was 
anxiously  watching  the  Record  and  scrib 
bling  notes  on  a  paper  beside  him.  His 
face  was  pale  and  his  lips  tightly  compressed. 

Finally  he  leaned  back  in  his  chair  and 
asked  : 

"Can  you  reproduce  this  scene  again?" 

" Certainly,  sir,"  answered  the  boy;  "as 
often  as  you  like." 

"Will  you  remain  here  while  I  send  for 
my  minister  of  police?  It  will  require  but  a 
short  time." 

"Call  him  up,  then.     I'm  in  something 
140 


Rob  watched  the  changing  expressions  upon  the 
great  man's  face 


HOW  ROB  SAVED  A   REPUBLIC 

of  a  hurry  myself,  but  now  I've  mixed  up 
with  this  thing  I'll  see  it  through." 

The  President  touched  a  bell  and  gave  an 
order  to  his  servant.  Then  he  turned  to 
Rob  and  said,  wonderingly: 

"You  are  a  boy!" 

"That's  true,  Mr.  President,"  was  the 
answer;  "but  an  American  boy,  you  must 
remember.  That  makes  a  big  difference,  I 
assure  you." 

The  President  bowed  gravely. 

"This  is  your  invention?"  he  asked. 

"No;  I'm  hardly  equal  to  that.  But  the 
inventor  has  made  me  a  present  of  the  Rec 
ord,  and  it's  the  only  one  in  the  world." 

"It  is  a  marvel,"  remarked  the  Presi 
dent,  thoughtfully.  "More!  It  is  a  real 
miracle.  We  are  living  in  an  age  of  won 
ders,  my  young  friend." 

"  No  one  knows  that  better  than  myself, 
sir,"  replied  Rob.  "  But,  tell  me,  can  you 
trust  your  chief  of  police?" 

"  I  think  so,"  said  the  President,  slowly; 
141 


THE  MA  S  TER  KET 

"  yet  since  your  invention  has  shown  me 
that  many  men  I  have  considered  honest 
are  criminally  implicated  in  this  royalist 
plot,  I  hardly  know  whom  to  depend 
upon." 

4 '  Then  please  wear  these  spectacles  dur 
ing  your  interview  with  the  minister  of  po 
lice,"  said  the  boy.  "  You  must  say  noth 
ing,  while  he  is  with  us,  about  certain  marks 
that  will  appear  upon  his  forehead;  but 
when  he  has  gone  I  will  explain  those 
marks  so  you  will  understand  them." 

The  President  covered  his  eyes  with  the 
spectacles. 

"  Why,"  he  exclaimed,  "  I  see  upon 
your  own  brow  the  letters — " 

"  Stop,  sir !"  interrupted  Rob,  with  a 
blush;  "  I  don't  care  to  know  what  the  let 
ters  are,  if  it's  just  the  same  to  you." 

The  President  seemed  puzzled  by  this 
speech,  but  fortunately  the  minister  of  police 
arrived  just  then  and,  under  Rob's  guid 
ance,  the  pictured  record  of  the  Orleanist 
142 


HO  W  ROB  SA  VED  A   REPUBLIC 

plot  was  reproduced  before  the  startled  eyes 
of  the  official. 

"And  now,"  said  the  boy,  "  let  us  see  if 
any  of  this  foolishness  is  going  on  just  at 
present." 

He  turned  to  the  opposite  side  of  the 
Record  and  allowed  the  President  and  his 
minister  of  police  fo  witness  the  quick  suc 
cession  of  events  even  as  they  occurred. 

Suddenly  the  minister  cried,  "  Ha!"  and, 
pointing  to  the  figure  of  a  man  disembark 
ing  from  an  English  boat  at  Calais,  he  said, 
excitedly: 

"  That,  your  Excellency,  is  the  Duke  of 
Orleans,  in  disguise!  I  must  leave  you  for 
a  time,  that  I  may  issue  some  necessary  or 
ders  to  my  men;  but  this  evening  I  shall 
call  to  confer  with  you  regarding  the  best 
mode  ,of  suppressing  this  terrible  plot." 

When  the  official  had  departed,  the  Presi 
dent  removed  the  spectacles  from  his  eyes 
and  handed  them  to  Rob. 

"  What  did  you  see  ?"  asked  the  boy. 
H3 


THE  MASTER  KET 

"  The  letters  <G'  and  <W." 

"  Then  you  may  trust  him  fully,"  de 
clared  Rob,  and  explained  the  construction 
of  the  Character  Marker  to  the  interested 
and  amazed  statesman. 

"And  now  I  must  go,"  he  continued, 
"  for  my  stay  in  your  city  will  be  a  short 
one  and  I  want  to  see  all  I  can." 

The  President  scrawled  something  on  a 
sheet  of  paper  and  signed  his  name  to  it, 
afterward  presenting  it,  with  a  courteous 
bow,  to  his  visitor. 

"  This  will  enable  you  to  go  wherever 
you  please,  while  in  Paris,"  he  said.  "I 
regret  my  inability  to  reward  you  properly 
for  the  great  service  you  have  rendered  my 
country;  but  you  have  my  sincerest  grati 
tude,  and  may  command  me  in  any  way." 

"  Oh,  that's  all  right,"  answered  Rob. 
"  I  thought  it  was  my  duty  to  warn  you, 
and  if  you  look  sharp  you'll  be  able  to 
break  up  this  conspiracy.  But  I  don't  want 
any  reward.  Good  day,  sir." 
144 


HOW  ROB  SAVED  A   REPUBLIC 

He  turned  the  indicator  of  his  traveling 
machine  and  immediately  rose  into  the  air, 
followed  by  a  startled  exclamation  from  the 
President  of  France. 

Moving  leisurely  over  the  city,  he  selected 
a  deserted  thoroughfare  to  alight  in,  from 
whence  he  wandered  unobserved  into  the 
beautiful  boulevards.  These  were  now 
brilliantly  lighted,  and  crowds  of  pleas 
ure  seekers  thronged  them  everywhere. 
Rob  experienced  a  decided  sense  of  relief 
as  he  mixed  with  the  gay  populace  and  en 
joyed  the  sights  of  the  splendid  city,  for  it 
enabled  him  to  forget,  for  a  time,  the  re 
sponsibilities  thrust  upon  him  by  the  posses 
sion  of  the  Demon's  marvelous  electrical 
devices. 


145 


CHAPTER  THIRTEEN 

ROB  LOSES  HIS  TREASURES 

OUR  young  adventurer  had  intended 
to  pass  the  night  in  the  little  bed  at 
his  hotel,  but  the  atmosphere  of  Paris 
proved  so  hot  and  disagreeable  that  he  de 
cided  it  would  be  more  enjoyable  to  sleep 
while  journeying  through  the  cooler  air 
that  lay  far  above  the  earth's  surface.  So 
just  as  the  clocks  were  striking  the  midnight 
hour  Rob  mounted  skyward  and  turned  the 
indicator  of  the  traveling  machine  to  the 
east,  intending  to  make  the  city  of  Vienna 
his  next  stop. 

He  had  risen  to  a  considerable  distance, 
146 


ROB  LOSES  HIS  TREASURES 

where  the  air  was  remarkably  fresh  and  ex 
hilarating,  and  the  relief  he  experienced 
from  the  close  and  muggy  streets  of  Paris 
was  of  such  a  soothing  nature  that  he  pres 
ently  fell  fast  asleep.  His  day  in  the  me 
tropolis  had  been  a  busy  one,  for,  like  all 
boys,  he  had  forgotten  himself  in  the  de 
light  of  sight-seeing  and  had  tired  his  mus 
cles  and  exhausted  his  strength  to  an  un 
usual  degree. 

It  was  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning 
when  Rob,  moving  restlessly  in  his  sleep, 
accidently  touched  with  his  right  hand  the 
indicator  of  the  machine  which  was  fastened 
to  his  left  wrist,  setting  it  a  couple  of  points 
to  the  south  of  east.  He  was,  of  course, 
unaware  of  the  slight  alteration  in  his 
course,  which  was  destined  to  prove  of 
serious  importance  in  the  near  future.  For 
the  boy's  fatigue  induced  him  to  sleep  far 
beyond  daybreak,  and  during  this  period  of 
unconsciousness  he  was  passing  over  the 
face  of  European  countries  and  approaching 

147 


THE  MASTER  KET 

the  lawless  and  dangerous  dominions  of  the 
Orient. 

When,  at  last,  he  opened  his  eyes,  he 
was  puzzled  to  determine  where  he  was. 
Beneath  him  stretched  a  vast,  sandy  plain, 
and  speeding  across  this  he  came  to  a  land 
abounding  in  luxuriant  vegetation. 

The  centrifugal  force  which  propelled 
him  was  evidently,  for  some  reason,  greatly 
accelerated,  for  the  scenery  of  the  country 
he  was  crossing  glided  by  him  at  so  rapid  a 
rate  of  speed  that  it  nearly  took  his  breath 
away. 

"  I  wonder  if  I've  passed  Vienna  in  the 
night,"  he  thought.  "  It  ought  not  to 
have  taken  me  more  than  a  few  hours  to 
reach  there  from  Paris." 

Vienna  was  at  that  moment  fifteen  hun 
dred  miles  behind  him 5  but  Rob's  geogra 
phy  had  always  been  his  stumbling  block 
at  school,  and  he  had  not  learned  to  gage 
the  speed  of  the  traveling  machine;  so  he 


148 


ROB  LOSES  HIS  TREASURES 

was  completely  mystified  as  to  his  where 
abouts. 

Presently  a  village  having  many  queer 
spires  and  minarets  whisked  by  him  like  a 
flash.  Rob  became  worried,  and  resolved 
to  slow  up  at  the  next  sign  of  habitation. 

This  was  a  good  resolution,  but  Turke 
stan  is  so  thinly  settled  that  before  the  boy 
could  plan  out  a  course  of  action  he  had 
passed  the  barren  mountain  range  of  Thian- 
Shan  as  nimbly  as  an  acrobat  leaps  a  jump- 
ing-bar. 

"  This  won't  do  at  all!"  he  exclaimed, 
earnestly.  "  The  traveling  machine  seems 
to  be  running  away  with  me,  and  I'm  miss 
ing  no  end  of  sights  by  scooting  along  up 
here  in  the  clouds." 

He  turned  the  indicator  to  zero,  and  was 
relieved  to  find  it  obey  with  customary 
quickness.  In  a  few  moments  he  had 
slowed  up  and  stopped,  when  he  found 
himself  suspended  above  another  stretch  of 


149 


THE  MASTER  KET 

sandy  plain.  Being  too  high  to  see  the 
surface  of  the  plain  distinctly  he  dropped 
down  a  few  hundred  feet  to  a  lower  level, 
where  he  discovered  he  was  surrounded  by 
billows  of  sand  as  far  as  his  eye  could  reach. 

" It's  a  desert,  all  right,"  was  his  com 
ment;  u  perhaps  old  Sahara  herself." 

He  started  the  machine  again  towards  the 
east,  and  at  a  more  moderate  rate  of  speed 
skimmed  over  the  surface  of  the  desert. 
Before  long  he  noticed  a  dark  spot  ahead  of 
him  which  proved  to  be  a  large  body  of 
fierce  looking  men,  riding  upon  drome 
daries  and  slender,  spirited  horses  and 
armed  with  long  rifles  and  crookedly  shaped 
simitars. 

"  Those  fellows  seem  to  be  looking  for 
trouble,"  remarked  the  boy,  as  he  glided 
over  them,  "  and  it  wouldn't  be  exactly 
healthy  for  an  enemy  to  get  in  their  way. 
But  I  haven't  time  to  stop,  so  I'm  not 
likely  to  get  mixed  up  in  any  rumpus  with 
them." 

150 


tk  Those  fellows  seem  to  be  looking  for  trouble  " 


ROB  LOSES  HIS  TREASURES 

However,  the  armed  caravan  was  scarcely 
out  of  sight  before  Rob  discovered  he  was 
approaching  a  rich,  wooded  oasis  of  the 
desert,  in  the  midst  of  which  was  built  the 
walled  city  of  Yarkand.  Not  that  he  had 
ever  heard  of  the  place,  or  knew  its 
name;  for  few  Europeans  and  only  one 
American  traveler  had  ever  visited  it.  But 
he  guessed  it  was  a  city  of  some  importance 
from  its  size  and  beauty,  and  resolved  to 
make  a  stop  there. 

Above  the  high  walls  projected  many 
slender,  white  minarets,  indicating  that  the 
inhabitants  were  either  Turks  or  some  race 
of  Mohammedans;  so  Rob  decided  to  make 
investigations  before  trusting  himself  to 
their  company. 

A  cluster  of  tall  trees  with  leafy  tops 
stood  a  short  distance  outside  the  walls,  and 
here  the  boy  landed  and  sat  down  to  rest  in 
the  refreshing  shade. 

The  city  seemed  as  hushed  and  still  as 
if  it  were  deserted,  and  before  him 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

stretched  the  vast  plain  of  white,  heated 
sands.  He  strained  his  eyes  to  catch  a 
glimpse  of  the  band  of  warriors  he  had 
passed,  but  they  were  moving  slowly  and 
had  not  yet  appeared. 

The  trees  that  sheltered  Rob  were  the 
only  ones  without  the  city,  although  many 
low  bushes  or  shrubs  grew  scattering  over 
the  space  between  him  and  the  walls.  An 
arched  gateway  broke  the  enclosure  at  his 
left,  but  the  gates  were  tightly  shut. 
.  Something  in  the  stillness  and  the  in 
tense  heat  of  the  mid-day  sun  made  the 
boy  drowsy.  He  stretched  himself  upon 
the  ground  beneath  the  dense  foliage  of  the 
biggest  tree  and  abandoned  himself  to  the 
languor  that  was  creeping  over  him. 

66  I'll  wait  until  that  army  of  the  desert 
arrives,"  he  thought,  sleepily.  "  They 
either  belong  in  this  city  or  have  come  to 
capture  it,  so  I  can  tell  better  what  to  dance 
when  I  find  out  what  the  band  plays." 

The  next  moment  he  was  sound  asleep, 
152 


ROB  LOSES  HIS  TREASURES 

sprawling  upon  his  back  in  the  shade  and 
slumbering  as  peacefully  as  an  infant. 

And  while  he  lay  motionless  three  men 
dropped  in  quick  succession  from  the  top  of 
the  city  wall  and  hid  among  the  low  bushes, 
crawling  noiselessly  from  one  to  another 
and  so  approaching,  by  degrees,  the  little 
group  of  trees. 

They  were  Turks,  and  had  been  sent  by 
those  in  authority  within  the  city  to  climb 
the  tallest  tree  of  the  group  and  discover  if 
the  enemy  was  near.  For  Rob's  conjecture 
had  been  correct,  and  the  city  of  Yarkand 
awaited,  with  more  or  less  anxiety,  a  threat 
ened  assault  from  its  hereditary  enemies, 
the  Tatars. 

The  three  spies  were  not  less  forbidding 
in  appearance  than  the  horde  of  warriors 
Rob  had  passed  upon  the  desert.  Their 
features  were  coarse  and  swarthy,  and  their 
eyes  had  a  most  villainous  glare.  Old  fash 
ioned  pistols  and  double-edged  daggers 
were  stuck  in  their  belts  and  their  clothing, 

153 


THE  MA  S  TER  KET 

rhough  of  gorgeous  colors,  was  soiled  and 
neglected. 

With  all  the  caution  of  the  American 
savage  these  Turks  approached  the  tree, 
where,  to  their  unbounded  amazement, 
they  saw  the  boy  lying  asleep.  His  dress 
and  fairness  of  skin  at  once  proclaimed  him, 
in  their  shrewd  eyes,  a  European,  and  their 
first  thought  was  to  glance  around  in  search 
of  his  horse  or  dromedary.  Seeing  noth 
ing  of  the  kind  near  they  were  much  puz 
zled  to  account  for  his  presence,  and  stood 
looking  down  at  him  with  evident  curiosity. 

The  sun  struck  the  polished  surface  of 
the  traveling  machine  which  was  attached 
to  Rob's  wrist  and  made  the  metal  glitter 
like  silver.  This  attracted  the  eyes  of  the 
tallest  Turk,  who  stooped  down  and  stealth 
ily  unclasped  the  band  of  the  machine  from 
the  boy's  outstretched  arm.  Then,  after  a 
hurried  but  puzzled  examination  of  the  little 
instrument,  he  slipped  it  into  the  pocket  of 
his  jacket. 

154 


ROB  LOSES  HIS  TREASURES 

Rob  stirred  uneasily  in  his  sleep,  and  one 
of  the  Turks  drew  a  slight  but  stout  rope 
from  his  breast  and  with  gentle  but  deft 
movement  passed  it  around  the  boy's  wrists 
and  drew  them  together  behind  him.  The 
action  was  not  swift  enough  to  arouse  the 
power  of  repulsion  in  the  Garment  of  Pro 
tection,  but  it  awakened  Rob  effectually,  so 
that  he  sat  up  and  stared  hard  at  his  cap 
tors. 

"  What  are  you  trying  to  do,  anyhow?" 
he  demanded. 

The  Turks  laughed  and  said  something 
in  their  own  language.  They  had  no 
knowledge  of  English. 

"  You're  only  making  fools  of  your 
selves,"  continued  the  boy,  wrathfully. 
u  It's  impossible  for  you  to  injure  me." 

The  three  paid  no  attention  to  his  words. 
One  of  them  thrust  his  hand  into  Rob's 
pocket  and  drew  out  the  electric  tube.  His 
ignorance  of  modern  appliances  was  so  great 
that  he  did  not  know  enough  to  push  the 

155 


THE  MASTER  KET 

button.  Rob  saw  him  looking  down  the 
hollow  end  of  the  tube  and  murmured: 

"  I  wish  it  would  blow  your  ugly  head 
off!" 

But  the  fellow,  thinking  the  shining  metal 
might  be  of  some  value  to  him,  put  the  tube 
in  his  own  pocket  and  then  took  from  the 
prisoner  the  silver  box  of  tablets. 

Rob  writhed  and  groaned  at  losing  his 
possessions  in  this  way,  and  while  his  hands 
were  fastened  behind  him  tried  to  feel  for 
and  touch  the  indicator  of  the  traveling  ma 
chine.  When  he  found  that  the  machine 
also  had  been  taken,  his  anger  gave  way  to 
fear,  for  he  realized  he  was  in  a  dangerously 
helpless  condition. 

The  third  Turk  now  drew  the  Record  of 
Events  from  the  boy's  inner  pocket.  He 
knew  nothing  of  the  springs  that  opened 
the  lids,  so,  after  a  curious  glance  at  it,,  he 
secreted  the  box  in  the  folds  of  his  sash  and 
continued  the  search  of  the  captive.  The 
Character  Marking  Spectacles  were  next  ab- 
156 


ROB  LOSES  HIS  TREASURES 

stracted,  but  the  Turk,  seeing  in  them  noth 
ing  but  spectacles,  scornfully  thrust  them 
back  into  Rob's  pocket,  while  his  comrades 
laughed  at  him.  The  boy  was  now  rifled 
of  seventeen  cents  in  pennies,  a  broken 
pocket  knife  and  a  lead-pencil,  the  last  arti 
cle  seeming  to  be  highly  prized. 

After  they  had  secured  all  the  booty  they 
could  find,  the  tall  Turk,  who  seemed  the 
leader  of  the  three,  violently  kicked  at 
the  prisoner  with  his  heavy  boot.  His  sur 
prise  was  great  when  the  Garment  of  Re 
pulsion  arrested  the  blow  and  nearly  over 
threw  the  aggressor  in  turn.  Snatching  a 
dagger  from  his  sash,  he  bounded  upon  the 
boy  so  fiercely  that  the  next  instant  the  en 
raged  Turk  found  himself  lying  upon  his 
back  three  yards  away,  while  his  dagger 
flew  through  the  air  and  landed  deep  in  the 
desert  sands. 

"  Keep  it  up  !"  cried  Rob,  bitterly.  "  I 
hope  you'll  enjoy  yourself." 

The  other  Turks  raised  their  comrade  to 

157 


THE  MA  S  TER  KEY 

his  feet,  and  the  three  stared  at  one  another 
in  surprise,  being  unable  to  understand  how 
a  bound  prisoner  could  so  effectually  defend 
himself.  But  at  a  whispered  word  from 
the  leader,  they  drew  their  long  pistols  and 
fired  point  blank  into  Rob's  face.  The  vol 
ley  echoed  sharply  from  the  city  walls,  but 
as  the  smoke  drifted  slowly  away  the  Turks 
were  horrified  to  see  their  intended  victim 
laughing  at  them. 

Uttering  cries  of  terror  and  dismay,  the 
three  took  to  their  heels  and  bounded  to 
wards  the  wall,  where  a  gate  quickly  opened 
to  receive  them,  the  populace  feeling  sure 
the  Tatar  horde  was  upon  them. 

Nor  was  this  guess  so  very  far  wrong; 
for  as  Rob,  sitting  disconsolate  upon  the 
sand,  raised  his  eyes,  he  saw  across  the 
desert  a  dark  line  that  marked  the  approach 
of  the  invaders. 

Nearer  and  nearer  they  came,  while  Rob 
watched  them  and  bemoaned  the  foolish 
impulse  that  had  led  him  to  fall  asleep  in  an 
158 


Uttering  cries  of  terror  and  dismay,  the  three  Turks 
took  to  their  heels 


ROB  LOSES  HIS  TREASURES 

unknown  land  where  he  could  so  easily  be 
overpowered  and  robbed  of  his  treasures. 

"  I  always  suspected  these  electrical  in 
ventions  would  be  my  ruin  some  day,"  he 
reflected,  sadly;  "  and  now  I'm  side-tracked 
and  left  helpless  in  this  outlandish  country, 
without  a  single  hope  of  ever  getting  home 
again.  They  probably  won't  be  able  to 
kill  me,  unless  they  find  my  Garment  of 
Repulsion  and  strip  that  off;  but  I  never 
could  cross  this  terrible  desert  on  foot  and, 
having  lost  my  food  tablets,  I'd  soon  starve 
if  I  attempted  it." 

Fortunately,  he  had  eaten  one  of  the  tab 
lets  just  before  going  to  sleep,  so  there  was 
no  danger  of  immediate  starvation.  But 
he  was  miserable  and  unhappy,  and  re 
mained  brooding  over  his  cruel  fate  until  a 
sudden  shout  caused  him  to  look  up. 


CHAPTER  FOURTEEN 

TURK  AND  TATAR 

THE  Tatars  had  arrived,  swiftly   and 
noiselessly,  and  a  dozen  of  the  war 
riors,  still  mounted,  were  surrounding  him. 
His  helpless  condition  aroused  their  curi 
osity,  and  while  some  of  them   hastily  cut 
away  his  bonds  and   raised  him  to  his  feet, 
others  plied  him  with  questions  in  their  own 
language.     Rob  shook  his  head  to  indicate 
that  he  could  not  understand;  so   they  led 
him  to  the  chief — an  immense,  bearded  rep 
resentative  of  the  tribe  of  Kara-Khitai,  the 
terrible    and    relentless     Black    Tatars    of 
Thibet.     The  huge  frame  of  this  fellow  was 
1 60 


TURK  A  ND  TA  TA  R 

clothed  in  flowing  robes  of  cloth-of-gold, 
braided  with  jewels,  and  he  sat  majestically 
upon  the  back  of  a  jet-black  camel. 

Under  ordinary  circumstances  the  stern 
features  and  flashing  black  eyes  of  this  re 
doubtable  warrior  would  have  struck  a  chill 
of  fear  to  the  boy's  heart;  but  now  under 
the  influence  of  the  crushing  misfortunes  he 
had  experienced,  he  was  able  to  gaze  with 
indifference  upon  the  terrible  visage  of  the 
desert  chief. 

The  Tatar  seemed  not  to  consider  Rob 
an  enemy.  Instead,  he  looked  upon  him 
as  an  ally,  since  the  Turks  had  bound  and 
robbed  him. 

Finding  it  impossible  to  converse  with 
the  chief,  Rob  took  refuge  in  the  sign  lan 
guage.  He  turned  his  pockets  wrong  side 
out,  showed  the  red  welts  left  upon  his 
wrists  by  the  tight  cord,  and  then  shook  his 
fists  angrily  in  the  direction  of  the  town. 

In  return  the  Tatar   nodded  gravely  and 
issued  an  order  to  his  men. 
161 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

By  this  time  the  warriors  were  busily 
pitching  tents  before  the  walls  of  Yarkand 
and  making  preparations  for  a  formal  siege. 
In  obedience  to  the  chieftain's  orders,  Rob 
was  given  a  place  within  one  of  the  tents 
nearest  the  wall  and  supplied  with  a  brace 
of  brass-mounted  pistols  and  a  dagger  with 
a  sharp,  zigzag  edge.  These  were  evi 
dently  to  assist  the  boy  in  fighting  the 
Turks,  and  he  was  well  pleased  to  have 
them.  His  spirits  rose  considerably  when 
he  found  he  had  fallen  among  friends,  al 
though  most  of  his  new  comrades  had  such 
evil  faces  that  it  was  unnecessary  to  put  on 
the  Character  Markers  to  judge  their  na 
tures  with  a  fair  degree  of  accuracy. 

"  I  can't  be  very  particular  about  the  com 
pany  I  keep,"  he  thought,  u  and  this  gang 
hasn't  tried  to  murder  me,  as  the  rascally 
Turks  did.  So  for  the  present  I'll  stand 
in  with  the  scowling  chief  and  try  to  get  a 
shot  at  the  thieves  who  robbed  me.  If  our 
side  wins  I  may  get  a  chance  to  recover 
162 


TURK  AND  TA  TAR 

some  of  my  property.  It's  a  slim  chance, 
of  course,  but  it's  the  only  hope  I  have 
left." 

That  very  evening  an  opportunity  oc 
curred  for  Rob  to  win  glory  in  the  eyes  of 
his  new  friends.  Just  before  sundown  the 
gates  of  the  city  flew  open  and  a  swarm  of 
Turks,  mounted  upon  fleet  horses  and 
camels,  issued  forth  and  fell  upon  their  en 
emies.  The  Tatars,  who  did  not  expect 
the  sally,  were  scarcely  able  to  form  an  op 
posing  rank  when  they  found  themselves 
engaged  in  a  hand-to-hand  conflict,  fight 
ing  desperately  for  their  lives.  In  such  a 
battle,  however,  the  Turks  were  at  a  disad 
vantage,  for  the  active  Tatars  slipped  be 
neath  their  horses  and  disabled  them,  bring 
ing  both  the  animals  and  their  riders  to  the 
earth. 

At  the  first  onslaught  Rob  shot  his  pistol 
at  a  Turk  and  wounded  him  so  severely 
that  he  fell  from  his  horse.  Instantly  the 
boy  seized  the  bridle  and  sprang  upon  the 

163 


THE  MASTER  KEY 


steed's  back,  and  the  next  moment  he  had 
dashed  into  the  thickest  part  of  the  fray. 
Bullets  and  blows  rained  upon  him  from  all 
sides,  but  the  Garment  of  Repulsion  saved 
him  from  a  single  scratch. 

When  his  pistols  had  been  discharged 
he  caught  up  the  broken  handle  of  a  spear, 
and  used  it  as  a  club,  galloping  into  the 
ranks  of  the  Turks  and  belaboring  them  as 
hard  as  he  could.  The  Tatars  cheered 
and  followed  him,  and  the  Turks  were  so 
amazed  at  his  miraculous  escape  from  their 
bullets  that  they  became  terrified,  thinking 
he  bore  a  charmed  life  and  was  protected 
by  unseen  powers. 

This  terror  helped  turn  the  tide  of  battle, 
and  before  long  the  enemy  was  pressed 
back  to  the  walls  and  retreated  through  the 
gates,  which  were  hastily  fastened  behind 
them. 

In  order  to  prevent  a  repetition  of  this 
sally  the  Tatars  at  once  invested  the  gates, 
so  that  if  the  Turks  should  open  them  they 
164 


TURK  A  ND  TA  TA  R 

were  as  likely  to  let  their  foes  in  as  to  op 
pose  them. 

While  the  tents  were  being  moved  up 
Rob  had  an  opportunity  to  search  the  bat 
tlefield  for  the  bodies  of  the  three  Turks 
who  had  robbed  him,  but  they  were  not 
among  the  fallen. 

"  Those  fellows  were  too  cowardly  to 
take  part  in  a  fair  fight,"  declared  the  boy; 
but  he  was  much  disappointed,  neverthe 
less,  as  he  felt  very  helpless  without  the 
electric  tube  or  the  traveling  machine. 

The  Tatar  chief  now  called  Rob  to  his 
tent  and  presented  him  with  a  beautiful 
ring  set  with  a  glowing  pigeon's-blood  ruby, 
in  acknowledgment  of  his  services.  This 
gift  made  the  boy  feel  very  proud,  and  he 
said  to  the  chief: 

"  You're  all  right,  old  man,  even  if  you 
do  look  like  a  pirate.  If  you  can  manage 
to  capture  that  city,  so  I  can  get  my  electri 
cal  devices  back,  I'll  consider  you  a  trump 
as  long  as  I  live." 

165 


THE  MA  S  TER  KEY 

The  chief  thought  this  speech  was  in 
tended  to  express  Rob's  gratitude,  so  he 
bowed  solemnly  in  return. 

During  the  night  that  followed  upon  the 
first  engagement  of  the  Turks  and  Tatars, 
the  boy  lay  awake  trying  to  devise  some 
plan  to  capture  the  city.  The  walls  seemed 
too  high  and  thick  to  be  either  scaled  or 
broken  by  the  Tatars,  who  had  no  artillery 
whatever;  and  within  the  walls  lay  all  the 
fertile  patt  of  the  oasis,  giving  the  besieged 
a  good  supply  of  water  and  provisions, 
while  tl  e  besiegers  were  obliged  to  subsist 
on  what  water  and  food  they  had  brought 
with  them. 

Just  before  dawn  Rob  left  his  tent  and 
went  out  to  look  at  the  great  wall.  The 
stars  gave  plenty  of  light,  but  the  boy  was 
worried  to  find  that,  according  to  Eastern 
custom,  no  sentries  or  guards  whatever  had 
been  posted  and  all  the  Tatars  were  slumber 
ing  soundly. 

The  city  was  likewise  wrapped  in  pro- 
166 


TURK  AND  TA  TAR 

found  silence,  but  just  as  Rob  was  turning 
away  he  saw  a  head  project  stealthily  over 
the  edge  of  the  wall  before  him,  and  recog 
nized  in  the  features  one  of  the  Turks  who 
had  robbed  him. 

Finding  no  one  awake  except  the  boy 
the  fellow  sat  upon  the  edge  of  the  wall, 
with  his  feet  dangling  downward,  and 
grinned  wickedly  at  his  former  victim.  Rob 
watched  him  with  almost  breathless  eager 
ness. 

After  making  many  motions  that  con 
veyed  no  meaning  whatever,  the  Turk  drew 
the  electric  tube  from  his  pocket  and  pointed 
his  finger  first  at  the  boy  and  then  at  the 
instrument,  as  if  inquiring  what  it  was 
used  for.  Rob  shook  his  head.  The 
Turk  turned  the  tube  over  several  times 
and  examined  it  carefully,  after  which  he 
also  shook  his  head,  seeming  greatly  puz 
zled. 

By  this  time  the  boy  was  fairly  trembling 
with  excitement.  He  longed  to  recover  this 
167 


THE  MASTER  RET 

valuable  weapon,  and  feared  that  at  any 
moment  the  curious  Turk  would  discover  its 
use.  He  held  out  his  hand  toward  the  tube, 
and  tried  to  say,  by  motions,  that  he  would 
show  the  fellow  how  to  use  it.  The  man 
seemed  to  understand,  but  he  would  not  let 
the  glittering  instrument  out  of  his  posses 
sion. 

Rob  was  almost  in  despair,  when  he  hap 
pened  to  notice  upon  his  hand  the  ruby  ring 
given  him  by  the  chief.  Drawing  the  jewel 
from  his  finger  he  made  offer,  by  signs,  that 
he  would  exchange  it  for  the  tube. 

The  Turk  was  much  pleased  with  the 
idea,  and  nodded  his  head  repeatedly,  hold 
ing  out  his  hand  for  the  ring.  Rob  had  lit 
tle  confidence  in  the  man's  honor,  but  he 
was  so  eager  to  regain  the  tube  that  he  de 
cided  to  trust  him.  So  he  threw  the  ring  to 
the  top  of  the  wall,  where  the  Turk  caught 
it  skilfully;  but  when  Rob  held  out  his  hand 
for  the  tube  the  scoundrel  only  laughed  at 
him  and  began  to  scramble  to  his  feet  in  or- 
168 


TURK  AND  TATAR 

der  to  beat  a  retreat.  Chance,  however, 
foiled  this  disgraceful  treachery,  for  in  his 
hurry  the  Turk  allowed  the  tube  to  slip  from 
his  grasp,  and  it  rolled  off  the  wall  and  fell 
upon  the  sand  at  Rob's  very  feet. 

The  robber  turned  to  watch  its  fall  and, 
filled  with  sudden  anger,  the  boy  grabbed 
the  weapon,  pointed  it  at  his  enemy,  and 
pressed  the  button.  Down  tumbled  the 
Turk,  without  a  cry,  and  lay  motionless  at 
the  foot  of  the  wall. 

Rob's  first  thought  was  to  search  the 
pockets  of  his  captive,  and  to  his  delight 
he  founr1  :nd  recovered  his  box  of  food  tab 
lets.  The  Record  of  Events  and  the  travel 
ing  machine  were  doubtless  in  the  possession 
of  the  other  robbers,  but  Rob  did  not  despair 
of  recovering  them,  now  that  he  had  the 
tube  to  aid  him. 

Day  was  now  breaking,  and  several  of  the 

Tatars  appeared  and  examined  the  body  of 

the  Turk  with  grunts  of  surprise,  for  there 

was  no  mark  upon  him  to  show  how  he  had 

169 


THE  MASTER  KEY 


been  slain.  Supposing  him  to  be  dead,  they 
tossed  him  aside  and  forgot  all  about  him. 

Rob  had  secured  his  ruby  ring  again,  and 
going  to  the  chief's  tent  he  showed  the  jewel 
to  the  guard  and  was  at  once  admitted.  The 
black-bearded  chieftain  was  still  reclining 
upon  his  pillows,  but  Rob  bowed  before 
him,  and  by  means  of  signs  managed  to  ask 
for  a  band  of  warriors  to  assist  him  in  as 
saulting  the  town.  The  chieftain  appeared 
to  doubt  the  wisdom  of  the  enterprise,  not 
being  able  to  understand  how  the  boy  could 
expect  to  succeed;  but  he  graciously  issued 
the  required  order,  and  by  the  time  Rob 
reached  the  city  gate  he  found  a  large 
group  of  Tatars  gathered  to  support  him, 
while  the  entire  camp,  roused  to  interest  in 
the  proceedings,  stood  looking  on. 

Rob  cared  little  for  the  quarrel  between 
the  Turks  and  Tatars,  and  under  ordinary 
circumstances  would  have  refused  to  side 
with  one  or  the  other;  but  he  knew  he  could 
not  hope  to  recover  his  electrical  machines 
170 


TURK  AND  TATAR 

unless  the  city  was  taken  by  the  band  of  war 
riors  who  had  befriended  him,  so  he  de 
termined  to  force  an  entrance  for  them. 

Without  hesitation  he  walked  close  to  the 
great  gate  and  shattered  its  fastenings  with 
the  force  of  the  electric  current  directed 
upon  them  from  the  tube.  Then,  shouting 
to  his  friends  the  Tatars  for  assistance,  they 
rushed  in  a  body  upon  the  gate  and  dashed 
it  open. 

The  Turks  had  expected  trouble  when 
they  heard  the  fastenings  of  the  huge  gate 
splinter  and  fall  apart,  so  they  had  assembled 
in  force  before  the  opening.  As  the  Tatars 
poured  through  the  gateway  in  a  compact 
mass  they  were  met  by  a  hail  of  bullets, 
spears  and  arrows,  which  did  fearful  execu 
tion  among  them.  Many  were  killed  out 
right,  while  others  fell  wounded  to  be  tram 
pled  upon  by  those  who  pressed  on  from 
the  rear. 

Rob  maintained  his  position  in  the  front 
rank,  but  escaped  all  injury  through  the 
171 


THE  MASTER  KE1 


possession  of  the  Garment  of  Repulsion. 
But  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  fight  and 
pressed  the  button  of  the  electric  tube  again 
and  again,  tumbling  the  enemy  into  heaps 
on  every  side,  even  the  horses  and  camels 
falling  helplessly  before  the  resistless  cur 
rent  of  electricity. 

The  Tatars  shouted  joyfully  as  they  wit 
nessed  this  marvelous  feat  and  rushed  for 
ward  to  assist  in  the  slaughter;  but  the  boy 
motioned  them  all  back.  He  did  not  wish 
any  more  bloodshed  than  was  necessary, 
and  knew  that  the  heaps  of  unconscious 
Turks  around  him  would  soon  recover. 

So  he  stood  alone  and  faced  the  enemy, 
calmly  knocking  them  over  as  fast  as  they 
came  near.  Two  of  the  Turks  managed  to 
creep  up  behind  the  boy,  and  one  of  them, 
who  wielded  an  immense  simitar  with  a 
two-edged  blade  as  sharp  as  a  razor,  swung 
the  weapon  fiercely  to  cut  off  Rob's  head. 
But  the  repulsive  force  aroused  in  the  Gar 
ment  was  so  terrific  that  it  sent  the  weapon 


TURK  AND  TATAR 

flying  backwards  with  redoubled  swiftness, 
so  that  it  caught  the  second  Turk  at  the 
waist  and  cut  him  fairly  in  two. 

Thereafter  they  all  avoided  coming  near 
the  boy,  and  in  a  surprisingly  short  time 
the  Turkish  forces  were  entirely  conquered, 
all  having  been  reduced  to  unconsciousness 
except  a  few  cowards  who  had  run  away 
and  hidden  in  the  cellars  or  garrets  of  the 
houses. 

The  Tatars  entered  the  city  with  shouts 
of  triumph,  and  the  chief  was  so  delighted 
that  he  threw  his  arms  around  Rob's  neck 
and  embraced  him  warmly. 

Then  began  the  sack  of  Yarkand,  the 
fierce  Tatars  plundering  the  bazaars  and 
houses,  stripping  them  of  everything  of 
value  they  could  find. 

Rob  searched  anxiously  among  the  bodies 
of  the  unconscious  Turks  for  the  two  men 
who  had  robbed  him,  but  neither  could  be 
found.  He  was  more  successful  later,  for 
in  running  through  the  streets  he  game  upon 

173 


THE  MA  S  TER  KEY 

a  band  of  Tatars  leading  a  man  with  a  rope 
around  his  neck,  whom  Rob  quickly  recog 
nized  as  one  of  the  thieves  he  was  hunt 
ing  for.  The  Tatars  willingly  allowed  him 
to  search  the  fellow,  and  in  one  of  his  pock 
ets  Rob  found  the  Record  of  Events. 

He  had  now  recovered  all  his  property, 
except  the  traveling  machine,  the  one  thing 
that  was  absolutely  necessary  to  enable  him 
to  escape  from  this  barbarous  country. 

He  continued  his  search  persistently,  and 
an  hour  later  found  the  dead  body  of  the 
third  robber  lying  in  the  square  in  the  cen 
ter  of  the  city.  But  the  traveling  machine 
was  not  on  his  person,  and  for  the  first  time 
the  boy  began  to  give  way  to  despair. 

'  In  the  distance  he  heard  loud  shouts  and 
sound  of  renewed  strife,  warning  him  that 
the  Turks  were  recovering  consciousness 
and  engaging  the  Tatars  with  great  fierce 
ness.  The  latter  had  scattered  throughout 
the  town,  thinking  themselves  perfectly  se 
cure,  so  that  not  only  were  they  unprepared 

174 


TURK  AND  TATAR 

to  fight,  but  they  became  panic-stricken  at 
seeing  their  foes  return,  as  it  seemed,  from 
death  to  life.  Their  usual  courage  forsook 
them,  and  they  ran,  terrified,  in  every  direc 
tion,  only  to  be  cut  down  by  the  revengeful 
Turkish  simitars. 

Rob  was  sitting  upon  the  edge  of  a  marble 
fountain  in  the  center  of  the  square  when 
a  crowd  of  victorious  Turks  appeared  and 
quickly  surrounded  him.  The  boy  paid  no 
attention  to  their  gestures  and  the  Turks 
feared  to  approach  him  nearly,  so  they 
stood  a  short  distance  away  and  fired  volleys 
at  him  from  their  rifles  and  pistols. 

Rob  glared  at  them  scornfully,  and  seeing 
they  could  not  injure  him  the  Turks  desisted; 
but  they  still  surrounded  him,  and  the 
crowd  grew  thicker  every  moment. 

Women  now  came  creeping  from  their 
hiding  places  and  mingled  with  the  ranks 
of  the  men,  and  Rob  guessed,  from  their 
joyous  chattering,  that  the  Turks  had  re 
gained  the  city  and  driven  out  or  killed  the 

175 


THE  MASTER  KET 

Tatar  warriors.  He  reflected,  gloomily, 
that  this  did  not  affect  his  own  position  in 
any  way,  since  he  could  not  escape  from 
the  oasis. 

Suddenly,  on  glancing  at  the  crowd,  Rob 
saw  something  that  arrested  his  attention. 
A  young  girl  was  fastening  some  article  to 
the  wrist  of  a  burly,  villainous-looking  Turk. 
The  boy  saw  a  glitter  that  reminded  him  of 
the  traveling  machine,  but  immediately 
afterward  the  man  and  the  girl  bent  their 
heads  over  the  fellow's  wrist  in  such  a  way 
that  Rob  could  see  nothing  more. 

While  the  couple  were  apparently  exam 
ining  the  strange  device,  Rob  started  to  his 
feet  and  walked  toward  them.  The  crowd 
fell  back  at  his  approach,  but  the  man  and 
the  girl  were  so  interested  that  they  did  not 
notice  him.  He  was  still  several  paces  away 
when  the  girl  put  out  her  finger  and  touched 
the  indicator  on  the  dial. 

TQ  Rob's  horror  and  consternation  the 


The  Turk  rose  slowly  into  the  air,  with  Rob  clinging 
to  him  with  desperate  tenacity 


TURK  A  ND  TA  TA  R 

big  Turk  began  to  rise  slowly  into  the  air, 
while  a  howl  of  fear  burst  from  the  crowd. 
But  the  boy  made  a  mighty  spring  and 
caught  the  Turk  by  his  foot,  clinging  to  it 
with  desperate  tenacity,  while  they  both 
mounted  steadily  upward  until  they  were 
far  above  the  city  of  the  desert. 

The  big  Turk  screamed  pitifully  at  first, 
and  then  actually  fainted  away  from  fright. 
Rob  was  much  frightened,  on  his  part,  for 
he  knew  if  his  hands  slipped  from  their  hold 
he  would  fall  to  his  death.  Indeed,  one 
hand  was  slipping  already,  so  he  made  a 
frantic  clutch  and  caught  firmly  hold  of  the 
Turk's  baggy  trousers.  Then,  slowly  and 
carefully,  he  drew  himself  up  and  seized  the 
leather  belt  that  encircled  the  man's  waist. 
This  firm  grip  gave  him  new  confidence, 
and  he  began  to  breathe  more  freely. 

He  now  clung  to  the  body  of  the  Turk 
with  both  legs  entwined,  in  the  way  he  was 
accustomed  to  cling  to  a  tree-trunk  when 


177 


THE  MASTER  KET 

he  climbed  after  cherries  at  home.  He  had 
conquered  his  fear  of  falling,  and  took  time 
to  recover  his  wits  and  his  strength. 

They  had  now  reached  such  a  tremendous 
height  that  the  city  looked  like  a  speck  on  the 
desert  beneath  them.  Knowing  he  must  act 
quickly,  Rob  seized  the  dangling  left  arm 
of  the  unconscious  Turk  and  raised  it  until 
he  could  reach  the  dial  of  the  traveling 
machine.  He  feared  to  unclasp  the  machine 
just  then,  for  two  reasons:  if  it  slipped  from 
his  grasp  they  would  both  plunge  down 
ward  to  their  death;  and  he  was  not  sure 
the  machine  would  work  at  all  if  in  any 
other  position  than  fastened  to  the  left  wrist. 

Rob  determined  to  take  no  chances,  so 
he  left  the  machine  attached  to  the  Turk 
and  turned  the  indicator  to  zero  and  then 
to  "  East,"  for  he  did  not  wish  to  rejoin 
either  his  enemies  the  Turks  or  his  equally 
undesirable  friends  the  Tatars. 

After  traveling  eastward  a   few  minutes 


178 


TURK  A  ND  TA  TA  R 

he  lost  sight  of  the  city  altogether;  so,  still 
clinging  to  the  body  of  the  Turk,  he  again 
turned  the  indicator  and  began  to  descend. 
When,  at  last,  they  landed  gently  upon  a 
rocky  eminence  of  the  Kuen-Lun  moun 
tains,  the  boy's  strength  was  almost  ex 
hausted,  and  his  limbs  ached  with  the  strain 
of  clinging  to  the  Turk's  body. 

His  first  act  was  to  transfer  the  traveling 
machine  to  his  own  wrist  and  to  see  that 
his  other  electrical  devices  were  safely  be 
stowed  in  his  pockets.  Then  he  sat  upon 
the  rock  to  rest  until  the  Turk  recovered 
consciousness. 

Presently  the  fellow  moved  uneasily, 
rolled  over,  and  then  sat  up  and  stared  at 
his  surroundings.  Perhaps  he  thought  he 
had  been  dreaming,  for  he  rubbed  his  eyes 
and  looked  again  with  mingled  surprise 
and  alarm.  Then,  seeing  Rob,  he  uttered 
a  savage  shout  and  drew  his  dagger. 

Rob  smiled  and  pointed  the  electric  tube 


179 


THE  MA  S  TER  RET 

at  the  man,  who  doubtless  recognized  its 
power,  for  he  fell  back  scowling  and  trem 
bling. 

"  This  place  seems  like  a  good  jog  from 
civilization,"  remarked  the  boy,  as  coolly 
as  if  his  companion  could  understand  what 
he  said;  "  but  as  your  legs  are  long  and 
strong  you  may  be  able  to  find  your  way. 
It's  true  you're  liable  to  starve  to  death, 
but  if  you  do  it  will'beyour  own  misfortune 
and  not  my  fault." 

The  Turk  glared  at  him  sullenly,  but  did 
not  attempt  to  reply. 

Rob  took  out  his  box  of  tablets,  ate  one  of 
them  and  offered  another  to  his  enemy.  The 
fellow  accepted  it  ungraciously  enough,  but 
seeing  Rob  eat  one  he  decided  to  follow  his 
example,  and  consumed  the  tablet  with  a 
queer  expression  of  distrust  upon  his  face. 

"  Brave  man!"  cried  Rob,  laughingly; 
"you've  avoided  the  pangs  of  starvation  for 
a  time,  anyhow,  so  I  can  leave  you  with  a 
clear  conscience." 

1 80 


TURK  AND  TATAR 

Without  more  ado  he  turned  the  indicator 
of  the  traveling  machine  and  mounted  into 
the  air,  leaving  the  Turk  sitting  upon  the 
rocks  and  staring  after  him  in  comical  be 
wilderment. 


181 


CHAPTER  FIFTEEN 

A  BATTLE  WITH  MONSTERS 

OUR  young  adventurer  never  experi 
enced  a  more  grateful  feeling  of  re 
lief  and  security  than  when  he  found  himself 
once  more  high  in  the  air,  alone,  and  in  un 
disputed  possession  of  the  electrical  devices 
bestowed  upon  him  by  the  Demon. 

The  dangers  he  had  passed  through  since 
landing  at  the  city  of  the  desert  and  the  des 
perate  chance  that  alone  had  permitted  him 
to  regain  the  traveling  machine  made  him 
shudder  at  the  bare  recollection  and  ren 
dered  him  more  sober  and  thoughtful  than 
usual. 


182 


A  BA  TTLE  WITH  MONSTERS 

We  who  stick  closely  to  the  earth's  sur 
face  can  scarcely  realize  how  Rob  ceuld 
travel  through  the  air  at  such  dizzy  heights 
without  any  fear  or  concern  whatsoever.  But 
he  had  come  to  consider  the  air  a  veritable 
refuge.  Experience  had  given  him  implicit 
confidence  in  the  powers  of  the  electrical  in 
strument  whose  unseen  forces  carried  him 
so  swiftly  and  surely,  and  while  the  tiny, 
watch-like  machine  was  clasped  to  his  wrist 
he  felt  himself  to  be  absolutely  safe. 

Having  slipped  away- from  the  Turk  and 
attained  a  fair  altitude,  he  set  the  indicator 
at  zero  and  paused  long  enough  to  consult 
his  map  and  decide  what  direction  it  was 
best  for  him  to  take.  The  mischance  that 
had  swept  him  unwittingly  over  the  coun 
tries  of  Europe  had  also  carried  him  more 
than  half  way  around  the  world  from  his 
home.  Therefore  the  nearest  way  to  reach 
America  would  be  to  continue  traveling  to 
the  eastward. 

So  much  time  had  been  consumed  at  the 

1*3 


THE  MASTER  KllT 

desert  oasis  that  he  felt  he  must  now  hasten 
if  he  wished  to  reach  home  by  Saturday 
afternoon;  so,  having  quickly  come  to  a 
decision,  he  turned  the  indicator  and  began 
a  swift  flight  into  the  east. 

For  several  hours  he  traveled  above  the 
great  desert  of  Gobi,  but  by  noon  signs  of  a 
more  fertile  country  began  to  appear,  and, 
dropping  to  a  point  nearer  the  earth,  he 
was  able  to  observe  closely  the  country  of 
the  Chinese,  with  its  crowded  population 
and  ancient  but  crude  civilization. 

Then  he  came  to  the  Great  Wall  of  China 
and  to  mighty  Peking,  above  which  he  hov 
ered  some  time,  examining  it  curiously.  He 
really  longed  to  make  a  stop  there,  but  with 
his  late  experiences  fresh  in  his  mind  he 
thought  it  much  safer  to  view  the  wonder 
ful  city  from  a  distance. 

Resuming  his  flight  he  presently  came  to 
the  gulf  of  Laou  Tong,  whose  fair  face  was 
freckled  with  many  ships  of  many  nations, 


184 


A  BA  TTLE  WITH  MONSTERS 

and  so  on  to  Korea,  which  seemed  to  him  a 
land  fully  a  century  behind  the  times. 

Night  overtook  him  while  speeding  across 
the  Sea  of  Japan,  and  having  a  great  desire 
to  view  the  Mikado's  famous  islands,  he  put 
the  indicator  at  zero,  and,  coming  to  a  full 
stop,  composed  himself  to  sleep  until  morn 
ing,  that  he  might  run  no  chances  of  being 
carried  beyond  his  knowledge  during  the 
night. 

You  might  suppose  it  no  easy  task  to 
sleep  suspended  in  mid-air,  yet  the  mag 
netic  currents  controlled  by  the  traveling 
machine  were  so  evenly  balanced  that  Rob 
was  fully  as  comfortable  as  if  reposing  upon 
a  bed  of  down.  He  had  become  somewhat 
accustomed  to  passing  the  night  in  the  air 
and  now  slept  remarkably  well,  having  no 
fear  of  burglars  or  fire  or  other  interrup 
tions  that  dwellers  in  cities  are  subject  to. 

One  thing,  however,  he  should  have  re 
membered:  that  he  was  in  an  ancient  and 


185 


THE  MASTER  KET 

little  known  part  of  the  world  and  reposing 
above  a  sea  famous  in  fable  as  the  home  of 
many  fierce  and  terrible  creatures;  while 
not  far  away  lay  the  land  of  the  dragon,  the 
simurg  and  other  ferocious  monsters. 

Rob  may  have  read  of  these  things  in 
fairy  tales  and  books  of  travel,  but  if  so  they 
had  entirely  slipped  his  mind;  so  he  slum 
bered  peacefully  and  actually  snored  a  little, 
I  believe,  towards  morning. 

But  even  as  the  red  sun  peeped  curiously 
over  the  horizon  he  was  awakened  by  a 
most  unusual  disturbance — a  succession  of 
hoarse  screams  and  a  pounding  of  the  air 
as  from  the  quickly  revolving  blades  of 
some  huge  windmill. 

He  rubbed  his  eyes  and  looked  around. 

Coming  towards  him  at  his  right  hand  was 
an  immense  bird,  whose  body  seemed  al 
most  as  big  as  that  of  a  horse.  Its  wide- 
open,  curving  beak  was  set  with  rows  of 
pointed  teeth,  and  the  talons  held  against 
its  breast  and  turned  threateningly  outward 
1 86 


A  BA  TTLE  WITH  MONSTERS 

were  more  powerful  and  dreadful  than  a 
tiger's  claws. 

While,  fascinated  and  horrified,  he  watched 
the  approach  of  this  feathered  monster,  a 
scream  sounded  just  behind  him  and  the 
next  instant  the  stroke  of  a  mighty  wing 
sent  him  whirling  over  and  over  through 
the  air. 

He  soon  came  to  a  stop,  however,  and 
saw  that  another  of  the  monsters  had  come 
upon  him  from  the  rear  and  was  now,  with 
its  mate,  circling  closely  around  him,  while 
both  uttered  continuously  their  hoarse,  sav 
age  cries. 

Rob  wondered  why  the  Garment  of  Re 
pulsion  had  not  protected  him  from  the 
blow  of  the  bird's  wing;  but,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  it  had  protected  him.  For  it  was  not 
the  wing  itself  but  the  force  of  the  eddying 
currents  of  air  that  had  sent  him  -whirling 
away  from  the  monster.  With  the  indi 
cator  at  zero  the  magnetic  currents  and  the 
opposing  powers  of  attraction  and  repulsion 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

were  so  evenly  balanced  that  any  violent  at 
mospheric  disturbance  affected  him  in  the 
same  way  that  thistledown  is  affected  by  a 
summer  breeze.  He  had  noticed  some 
thing  of  this  before,  but  whenever  a  strong 
wind  was  blowing  he  was  accustomed  to 
rise  to  a  position  above  the  air  currents. 
This  was  the  first  time  he  had  slept  with  the 
indicator  at  zero. 

The  huge  birds  at  once  renewed  their  at 
tack,  but  Rob  had  now  recovered  his  wits 
sufficiently  to  draw  the  electric  tube  from 
his  pocket.  The  first  one  to  dart  towards 
him  received  the  powerful  electric  current 
direct  from  the  tube,  and  fell  stunned  and 
fluttering  to  the  surface  of  the  sea,  where 
it  floated  motionless.  Its  mate,  perhaps 
warned  by  this  sudden  disaster,  renewed  its 
circling  flight,  moving  so  swiftly  that  Rob 
could  scarcely  follow  it,  and  drawing  nearer 
and  nearer  every  moment  to  its  intended 
victim.  The  boy  could  not  turn  in  the  air 


188 


A  BA  TTLE  WITH  MONSTERS 

very  quickly,  and  he  feared  an  attack  in  the 
back,  mistrusting  the  saving  power  of  the 
Garment  of  Repulsion  under  such  circum 
stances*  so  in  desperation  he  pressed  his 
finger  upon  the  button  of  the  tube  and 
whirled  the  instrument  around  his  head  in 
the  opposite  direction  to  that  in  which  the 
monster  was  circling.  Presently  the  cur 
rent  and  the  bird  met,  and  with  one  last 
scream  the  creature  tumbled  downwards  to 
join  its  fellow  upon  the  waves,  where  they 
lay  like  two  floating  islands. 

Their  presence  had  left  a  rank,  sickening 
stench  in  the  surrounding  atmosphere,  so 
Rob  made  haste  to  resume  his  journey  and 
was  soon  moving  rapidly  eastward. 

He  could  not  control  a  shudder  at  the  rec 
ollection  of  his  recent  combat,  and  realized 
the  horror  of  a  meeting  with  such  creatures 
by  one  who  had  no  protection  from  their 
sharp  beaks  and  talons. 

"  It's  no  woncjer    the   Japs    draw    ugly 


189 


THE  MASTER  KEY 


pictures  of  those  monsters,"  he  thought. 
"  People  who  live  in  these  parts  must  pass 
most  of  their  lives  in  a  tremble." 

The  sun  was  now  shining  brilliantly,  and 
when  the  beautiful  islands  of  Japan  came 
in  sight  Rob  found  that  he  had  recovered 
his  wonted  cheerfulness.  lie  moved  along 
slowly,  hovering  with  curious  interest  over 
the  quaint  and  picturesque  villages  and 
watching  the  industrious  Japanese  patiently 
toiling  at  their  tasks.  Just  before  he  reached 
Tokio  he  came  to  a  military  fort,  and  for 
nearly  an  hour  watched  the  skilful  maneu 
vers  of  a  regiment  of  soldiers  at  their  morn 
ing  drill.  They  were  not  very  big  people, 
compared  with  other  nations,  but  they 
seemed  alert  and  well  trained,  and  the  boy 
decided  it  would  require  a  brave  enemy  to 
face  them  on  a  field  of  battle. 

Having  at  length  satisfied  his  curiosity  as 
to  Japanese  life  and  customs  Rob  prepared 
for  his  long  flight  across  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

By  consulting  his  map  he  discovered  that 
190 


A  BATTLE  WITH  MONSTERS 

should  he  maintain  his  course  due  east,  as 
before,  he  would  arrive  at  a  point  in  Amer 
ica  very  near  to  San  Francisco,  which 
suited  his  plans  excellently. 

Having  found  that  he  moved  more  swiftly 
when  farthest  from  the  earth's  surface,  be 
cause  the  air  was  more  rarefied  and  offered 
less  resistance,  Rob  mounted  upwards  until 
the  islands  of  Japan  were  mere  specks  visi 
ble  through  the  clear,  sunny  atmosphere. 

Then  he  began  his  eastward  flight,  the 
broad  surface  of  the  Pacific  seeming  like  a 
blue  cloud  far  beneath  him. 


CHAPTER  SIXTEEN 

SHIPWRECKED  MARINERS 

AMPLE  proof  of  Rob's  careless  and 
restless  nature  having  been  frankly 
placed  before  the  reader  in  these  pages,  you 
will  doubtless  be  surprised  when  I  relate 
that  during  the  next  few  hours  our  young 
gentleman  suffered  from  a  severe  attack  of 
homesickness,  becoming  as  gloomy  and  un 
happy  in  its  duration  as  ever  a  homesick 
boy  could  be. 

It  may  have  been  because  he  was  just 
then  cut  off  from  all  his  fellow-creatures 
and  even  from  the  world  itself;  it  may  have 
been  because  he  was  satiated  with  marvels 


192 


SHIPWRECKED  MARINERS 

and  with  the  almost  absolute  control  over 
the  powers  which  the  Demon  had  conferred 
upon  him;  or  it  may  have  been  because 
he  was  born  and  reared  a  hearty,  healthy 
American  boy,  with  a  disposition  to  battle 
openly  with  the  world  and  take  his  chances 
equally  with  his  fellows,  rather  than  be 
placed  in  such  an  exclusive  position  that  no 
one  could  hope  successfully  to  oppose  him. 

Perhaps  he  himself  did  not  know  what 
gave  him  this  horrible  attack  of  "the  blues," 
but  the  truth  is  he  took  out  his  handkerchieif 
and  cried  like  a  baby  from  very  loneliness 
and  misery. 

There  was  no  one  to  see  him,  thank 
goodness  !  and  the  tears  gave  him  consider 
able  relief.  He  dried  his  eyes,  made  an 
honest  struggle  to  regain  his  cheerfulness, 
and  then  muttered  to  himself: 

"If  I  stay  up  here,  like  an  air-bubble  in 
the  sky,  I  shall  certainly  go  crazy.  I  sup 
pose  there's  nothing  but  water  to  look  at 


193 


THE  MASTER  KET 

down  below,  but  if  I  could  only  sight  a  ship, 
or  even  see  a  fish  jump,  it  would  do  me  no 
end  of  good." 

Thereupon  he  descended  until,  as  the 
ocean's  surface  came  nearer  and  nearer,  he 
discovered  a  tiny  island  lying  almost  directly 
underneath  him.  It  was  hardly  big  enough 
to  make  a  dot  on  the  biggest  map,  but  a 
clump  of  trees  grew  in  the  central  portion, 
while  around  the  edges  were  jagged  rocks 
protecting  a  sandy  beach  and  a  stretch  of 
flower-strewn  upland  leading  to  the  trees. 

It  looked  very  beautiful  from  Rob's  ele 
vated  position,  and  his  spirits  brightened  at 
once. 

"I'll  drop  down  and  pick  a  bouquet," 
he  exclaimed,  and  a  few  moments  later  his 
feet  touched  the,  firm  earth  of  the  island. 

But  before  he  could  gather  a  dozen  of  the 
brilliant  flowers  a  glad  shout  reached  his 
ears,  and,  looking  up,  he  saw  two  men  run 
ning  towards  him  from  the  trees. 

They  were  dressed  in  sailor  fashion,  but 
194 


SHIPWRECKED  MARINERS 

their  clothing  was  reduced  to  rags  and 
scarcely  clung  to  their  brown,  skinny  bod 
ies.  As  they  advanced  they  waved  their 
arms  wildly  in  the  air  and  cried  in  joyful 
tones: 

"  A  boat!  a  boat!" 

Rob  stared  at  them  wonderingly,  and  had 
much  ado  to  prevent  the  poor  fellows  from 
hugging  him  outright,  so  great  was  their  joy 
at  his  appearance.  One  of  them  rolled  upon 
the  ground,  laughing  and  crying  by  turns, 
while  the  other  danced  and  cut  capers  until 
he  became  so  exhausted  that  he  sank  down 
breathless  beside  his  comrade. 

"  How  came  you  here?  r'  then  inquired 
the  boy,  in  pitying  tones. 

"We're  shipwrecked  American  sailors 
from  the  bark  '  Cynthia  Jane,'  which  went 
down  near  here  over  a  month  ago,"  an 
swered  the  smallest  and  thinnest  of  the  two. 
"  We  escaped  by  clinging  to  a  bit  of  wreck 
age  and  floated  to  this  island,  where  we 
have  nearly  starved  to  death.  Indeed,  we 

195 


THE  MASTER  KET 


now  have  eaten  everything  on  the  island 
that  was  eatable,  and  had  your  boat  arrived 
a  few  days  later  you'd  have  found  us  lying 
dead  upon  the  beach! '! 

Rob  listened  to  this  sad  tale  with  real 
sympathy. 

"  But  I  didn't  come  here  in  a  boat,"  said 
he. 

The  men  sprang  to  their  feet  with  white, 
scared  faces. 

"  No  boat!"  they  cried;  "  are  you,  too, 
shipwrecked  ?" 

"  No;"  he  answered.  "I  flew  here 
through  the  air."  And  then  he  explained 
to  them  the  wonderful  electric  traveling 
machine. 

But  the  sailors  had  no  interest  whatever 
in  the  relation.  Their  disappointment  was 
something  awful  to  witness,  and  one  of 
them  laid  his  head  upon  his  comrade's 
shoulder  and  wept  with  unrestrained  grief, 
so  weak  and  discouraged  had  they  become 
through  suffering. 


The  disappointment  of  the  sailors  was  something 
awful  to  witness 


SHIPWRECKED  MARINERS 

Suddenly  Rob  remembered  that  he  could 
assist  them,  and  took  the  box  of  concen 
trated  food  tablets  from  his  pocket. 

u  Eat  these,"  he  said,  offering  one  to 
each  of  the  sailors. 

At  first  they  could  not  understand  that 
these  small  tablets  would  be  able  to  allay 
the  pangs  of  hunger;  but  when  Rob  ex 
plained  their  virtues  the  men  ate  them 
greedily.  Within  a  few  moments  they  were 
so  greatly  restored  to  strength  and  courage 
that  their  eyes  brightened,  their  sunken 
cheeks  flushed,  and  they  were  able  to  con 
verse  with  their  benefactor  with  calmness 
and  intelligence. 

Then  the  boy  sat  beside  them  upon  the 
grass  and  told  them  the  story  of  his  ac 
quaintance  with  the  Demon  and  of  all  his 
adventures  since  he  had  come  into  posses 
sion  of  the  wonderful  electric  contrivances. 
In  his  present  mood  he  felt  it  would  be  a 
relief  to  confide  in  some  one,  and  so  these 


197 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

poor,  lonely  men  were  the  first  to  hear  his 
story. 

When  he  related  the  manner  in  which 
he  had  clung  to  the  Turk  while  both  as 
cended  into  the  air,  the  elder  of  the  two 
sailors  listened  with  rapt  attention,  and 
then,  after  some  thought,  asked: 

"  Why  couldn't  you  carry  one  or  both 
of  us  to  America?" 

Rob  took  time  seriously  to  consider  this 
idea,  while  the  sailors  eyed  him  with  eager 
interest.  Finally  he  said: 

"I'm  afraid  I  couldn't  support  your 
weight  long  enough  to  reach  any  other  land. 
It's  a  long  journey,  and  you'd  pull  my 
arms  out  of  joint  before  we'd  been  up  an 
hour." 

Their  faces  fell  at  this,  but  one  of  them 
said: 

"  Why  couldn't  we  swing  ourselves  over 
your  shoulders  with  a  rope?  Our  two 
bodies  would  balance  each  other  and  we 


IQ8 


SHIPWRECKED  MARINERS 

are  so  thin  and  emaciated  that  we  do  not 
weigh  very  much." 

While  considering  this  suggestion  Rob 
remembered  how  at  one  time  five  pirates 
had  clung  to  his  left  leg  and  been  carried 
some  distance  through  the  air. 

"  Have  you  a  rope  ?"  he  asked. 

"  No,"  was  the  answer;  "  but  there  are 
plenty  of  long,  tough  vines  growing  on  the 
island  that  are  just  as  strong  and  pliable  as 
ropes." 

"  Then,  if  you  are  willing  to  run  the 
chances,"  decided  the  boy,  "  I  will  make 
the  attempt  to  save  you.  But  I  must  warn 
you  that  in  case  I  find  I  can  not  support  the 
weight  of  your  bodies  I  shall  drop  one  or 
both  of  you  into  the  sea." 

They  looked  grave  at  this  prospect,  but 
the  biggest  one  said: 

"We  would  soon  meet  death  from  starva 
tion  if  you  left  us  here  on  the  island;  so,  as 
there  is  at  least  a  chance  of  our  being  able 


199 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

to  escape  in  your  company  I,  for  one,  am 
willing  to  risk  being  drowned.  It  is  easier 
and  quicker  than  being  starved.  And,  as 
I'm  the  heavier,  I  suppose  you'll  drop  me 
first." 

"  Certainly,"  declared  Rob,  promptly. 

This  announcement  seemed  to  be  an  en 
couragement  to  the  little  sailor,  but  he  said, 
nervously: 

"  I  hope  you'll  keep  near  the  water,  for 
I  haven't  a  good  head  for  heights — they 
always  make  me  dizzy." 

uOh,  if  you  don't  want  to  go,"  began 
Rob,  "  I  can  easily " 

"  But  I  do!  I  do!  I  do!  "  cried  the  little 
man,  interrupting  him.  "  I  shall  die  if  you 
leave  me  behind!  ': 

"  Well,  then,  get  your  ropes^  and  we'll 
do  the  best  we  can,"  said  the  boy. 

They  ran  to  the  trees,  around  the  trunks 
of  which  were  clinging  many  tendrils  of 
greenish-brown  vine  which  possessed  re- 


200 


SHIPWRECKED  MARINERS 

markable  strength.  With  their  knives  they 
cut  a  long  section  of  this  vine,  the  ends  of 
which  were  then  tied  into  loops  large  enough 
to  permit  the  sailors  to  sit  in  them  comfort 
ably.  The  connecting  piece  Rob  padded 
with  seaweed  gathered  from  the  shore,  to 
prevent  its  cutting  into  his  shoulders. 

"  Now,  then,"  he  said,  when  all  was 
ready,  "take  your  places." 

The  sailors  squatted  in  the  loops,  and  Rob 
swung  the  vine  over  his  shoulders  and  turned 
the  indicator  of  the  traveling  machine  to 
"up." 

As  they  slowly  mounted  into  the  sky  the 
little  sailor  gave  a  squeal  of  terror  and  clung 
to  the  boy's  arm;  but  the  other,  although 
seemingly  anxious,  sat  quietly  in  his  place 
and  made  no  trouble. 

"  D — d — don't  g — g — go  so  high  !  " 
stammered  the  little  one,  tremblingly;  "sup 
pose  we  should  f — f — fall!  " 

"Well,  s'pose  we  should?"    answered 


201 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

Rob,  gruffly.  "  You  couldn't  drown  until 
you  struck  the  water,  so  the  higher  we  are 
the  longer  you'll  live  in  case  of  accident." 

This  phase  of  the  question  seemed  to  com 
fort  the  frightened  fellow  somewhat ;  but,  as 
he  said,  he  had  not  a  good  head  for  heights, 
and  so  continued  to  tremble  in  spite  of  his 
resolve  to  be  brave. 

The  weight  on  Rob's  shoulders  was  not 
so  great  as  he  had  feared,  the  traveling 
machine  seeming  to  give  a  certain  lightness 
and  buoyancy  to  everything  that  came  into 
contact  with  its  wearer. 

As  soon  as  he  had  reached  a  sufficient 
elevation  to  admit  of  good  speed  he  turned 
the  indicator  once  more  to  the  east  and  be 
gan  moving  rapidly  through  the  air,  the 
shipwrecked  sailors  dangling  at  either  side. 

"  This  is  aw — aw — awful!"  gasped  the 
little  one. 

"  Say,  you  shut  up  !"  commanded  the 
boy,  angrily.  "  If  your  friend  was  as  big 
a  coward  as  you  are  I'd  drop  you  both  this 

202 


SHIPWRECKED  MARINERS 

minute.  Let  go  my  arm  and  keep  quiet, 
if  you  want  to  reach  land  alive." 

The  fellow  whimpered  a  little,  but  man 
aged  to  remain  silent  for  several  minutes. 
Then  he  gave  a  sudden  twitch  and  grabbed 
Rob's  arm  again. 

u  S'pose — s'pose  the  vine  should  break!" 
he  moaned,  a  horrified  look  upon  his  face. 

"  I've  had  about  enough  of  this,"  said 
Rob,  savagely.  "  If  you  haven't  any  sense 
you  don't  deserve  to  live."  He  turned  the 
indicator  on  the  dial  of  the  machine  and 
they  began  to  descend  rapidly. 

The  little  fellow  screamed  with  fear,  but 
Rob  paid  no  attention  to  him  until  the  feet 
of  the  two  suspended  sailors  were  actually 
dipping  into  the  waves,  when  he  brought 
their  progress  to  an  abrupt  halt. 

"  Wh — wh — what  are  you  g — g — going 
to  do  ?"  gurgled  the  cowardly  sailor. 

"  I'm  going  to  feed  you  to  the  sharks — 
unless  you  promise  to  keep  your  mouth 
shut,"  retorted  the  boy.  "  Now,  then;  de* 
203 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

cide  at  once!  Which  will  it  be — sharks  or 
silence?" 

"  I  won't  say  a  word — 'pon  my  honor,  I 
won't!"  said  the  sailor,  shudderingly. 

"All  right;  remember  your  promise  and 
we'll  have  no  further  trouble,"  remarked 
Rob,  who  had  hard  work  to  keep  from 
laughing  at  the  man's  abject  terror. 

Once  more  he  ascended  and  continued 
the  journey,  and  for  several  hours  they  rode 
along  swiftly  and  silently.  Rob's  shoulders 
were  beginning  to  ache  with  the  continued 
tugging  of  the  vine  upon  them,  but  the 
thought  that  he  was  saving  the  lives  of 
two  unfortunate  fellow-creatures  gave  him 
strength  and  courage  to  persevere. 

Night  was  falling  when  they  first  sighted 
land;  a  wild  and  seemingly  uninhabited 
stretch  of  the  American  coast.  Rob  made 
no  effort  to  select  a  landing  place,  for  he 
was  nearly  worn  out  with  the  strain  and 
anxiety  of  the  journey.  He  dropped  his 
burden  upon  the  brow  of  a  high  bluff  over- 
304 


SHIPWRECKED  MARINERS 

looking  the  sea  and,  casting  the  vine  from 
his  shoulders,  fell  to  the  earth  exhausted 
and  half  fainting. 


205 


CHAPTER  SEVENTEEN 

THE  COAST  OF  OREGON 

WHEN  he  had  somewhat  recovered, 
Rob  sat  up  and   looked   around 
him.     The    elder    sailor    was    kneeling    in 
earnest  prayer,  offering  grateful  thanks  for 
his  escape  from  suffering  and  death.     The 
younger  one  lay  upon  the  ground  sobbing 
and  still  violently   agitated  by  recollections 
of  the  frightful  experiences  he  had  under 
gone.     Although  he  did  not  show  his  feel 
ings  as  plainly  as  the  men,  the  boy  was  none 
the  less  gratified  at  having  been  instrumental 
in  saving  the  lives  of  two  fellow-beings. 
The  darkness  was  by  this  time  rapidly 
206 


THE  COAST  OF  OREGON 

enveloping  them,  so  Rob  asked  his  com 
panions  to  gather  some  brushwood  and 
light  a  fire,  which  they  quickly  did.  The 
evening  was  cool  for  the  time  of  year,  and 
the  heat  from  the  fire  was  cheering  and 
grateful;  so  they  all  lay  near  the  glowing 
embers  and  fell  fast  asleep. 

The  sound  of  voices  aroused  Rob  next 
morning,  and  on  opening  his  eyes  and  gaz 
ing  around  he  saw  several  rudely  dressed 
men  approaching.  The  two  shipwrecked 
sailors  were  still  sound  asleep. 

Rob  stood  up  and  waited  for  the  strangers 
to  draw  near.  They  seemed  to  be  fishermen, 
and  were  much  surprised  at  finding  three 
people  asleep  upon  the  bluff. 

"Whar  'n  thunder  'd  ye  come  from?" 
asked  the  foremost  fisherman,  in  a  surprised 
voice. 

"  From  the  sea,"  replied  the  boy.  "My 
friends  here  are  shipwrecked  sailors  from 
the  'Cynthia  Jane.'  " 

"  But  how'd  ye  make  out  to  climb  the 
207 


THE  MA  S  TER  KE  T 

bluff?"  inquired  a  second  fisherman;  "  no 
one  ever  did  it  afore,  as  we  knows  on." 

"  Oh,  that  is  a  long  story,-'  replied  the 
boy,  evasively. 

The  two  sailors  had  awakened  and  now 
saluted  the  new-comers.  Soon  they  were 
exchanging  a  running  fire  of  questions  and 
answers. 

"Where  are  we  ?"  Rob  heard  the  little 
sailor  ask. 

"  Coast  of  Oregon,"  was  the  reply. 
"  We're  about  seven  miles  from  Port  Or- 
ford  by  land  an'  about  ten  miles  by  sea." 

"  Do  you  live  at  Port  Orford?"  inquired 
the  sailor. 

"  That's  what  we  do,  friend;  an'  if  your 
party  wants  to  join  us  we'll  do  our  best  to 
make  you  comf'table,  bein'  as  you're  ship 
wrecked  an'  need  help." 

Just  then  a  loud  laugh  came  from  an 
other  group,  where  the  elder  sailor  had 
been  trying  to  explain  Rob's  method  of 
flying  through  the  air.. 


THE  COAST  OF  OREGON 

"  Laugh  all  you  want  to,"  said  the  sailor, 
sullenly;  "  it's  true — ev'ry  word  of  it  I" 

"  Mebbe  you  think  it,  friend,"  answered 
a  big,  good-natured  fisherman;  "  but  it's 
well  known  that  shipwrecked  folks  go  crazy 
sometimes,  an'  imagine  strange  things. 
Your  mind  seems  clear  enough  in  other 
ways,  so  I  advise  you  to  try  and  forget  your 
dreams  about  flyinV 

Rob  now  stepped  forward  and  shook 
hands  with  the  sailors. 

u  I  see  you  have  found  friends,"  he  said 
to  them,  u  so  I  will  leave  you  and  continue 
my  journey,  as  I'm  in  something  of  a 
hurry." 

Both  sailors  began  to  thank  him  profusely 
for  their  rescue,  but  he  cut  them  short. 

"  That's  all  right.  Of  course  I  couldn't 
leave  you  on  that  island  to  starve  to  death, 
and  I'm  glad  I  was  able  to  bring  you  away 
with  me." 

^  But  you  threatened  to  drop  me  into  the 


209 


THE  MASTER  KET 

sea,"  remarked  the  little  sailor,  in  a  grieved 
voice. 

"  So  I  did,"  said  Rob,  laughing;  "  but 
I  wouldn't  have  done  it  for  the  world — not 
even  to  have  saved  my  own  life.  Good- 
by!" 

He  turned  the  indicator  and  mounted 
skyward,  to  the  unbounded  amazement  of 
the  fishermen,  who  stared  after  him  with 
round  eyes  and  wide  open  mouths. 

"  This  sight  will  prove  to  them  that  the 
sailors  are  not  crazy,"  he  thought,  as  he 
turned  to  the  south  and  sped  away  from  the 
bluff.  "  I  suppose  those  simple  fishermen 
will  never  forget  this  wonderful  occurrence, 
and  they'll  probably  make  reg'lar  heroes  of 
the  two  men  who  have  crossed  the  Pacific 
through  the  air." 

He  followed  the  coast  line,  keeping  but  a 
short  distance  above  the  earth,  and  after  an 
hour's  swift  flight  reached  the  city  of  San 
Francisco. 

His  shoulders  were  sore  and  stiff  from  the 

210 


THE  COAST  OF  OREGON 

heavy  strain  upon  them  of  the  previous  day, 
and  he  wished  more  than  once  that  he  had 
some  of  his  mother's  household  liniment  to 
rub  them  with.  Yet  so  great  was  his  de 
light  at  reaching  once  more  his  native  land 
that  all  discomforts  were  speedily  forgotten. 

Much  as  he  would  have  enjoyed  a  day  in 
the  great  metropolis  of  the  Pacific  slope, 
Rob  dared  not  delay  longer  than  to  take  a 
general  view  of  the  place,  to  note  its  hand 
some  edifices  and  to  wonder  at  the  throng 
of  Chinese  inhabiting  one  section  of  the 
town. 

These  things  were  much  more  plainly  and 
quickly  viewed  by  Rob  from  above  than  by 
threading  a  way  through  the  streets  on  foot; 
for  he  looked  down  upon  the  city  as  a  bird 
does,  and  covered  miles  with  a  single  glance. 

Having  satisfied  his  curiosity  without  at 
tempting  to  alight,  he  turned  to  the  south 
east  and  followed  the  peninsula  as  far  as 
Palo  Alto,  where  he  viewed  the  magnificent 
buildings  of  the  university.  Changing  his 

21  I 


THE  MASTER  KET 


course  to  the  east,  he  soon  reached  Mount 
Hamilton,  and,  being  attracted  by  the  great 
tower  of  the  Lick  Observatory,  he  hovered 
over  it  until  he  found  he  had  attracted  the 
excited  gaze  of  its  inhabitants,  who  doubt 
less  observed  him  very  plainly  through  the 
big  telescope. 

But  so  unreal  and  seemingly  impossible 
was  the  sight  witnessed  by  the  learned 
astronomers  that  they  have  never  ventured 
to  make  the  incident  public,  although  long 
after  the  boy  had  darted  away  into  the  east 
they  argued  together  concerning  the  marvel 
ous  and  incomprehensible  vision.  After 
ward  they  secretly  engrossed  the  circum 
stance  upon  their  records,  but  resolved 
never  to  mention  it  in  public,  lest  their  wis 
dom  and  veracity  should  be  assailed  by  the 
skeptical. 

Meantime  Rob  rose  to  a  higher  altitude, 

and  sped  swiftly  across  the  great  continent. 

By  noon  he  sighted  Chicago,  and  after  a 

brief  inspection  of  the   place   from  the  air 

212 


THE  COAST  OF  OREGON 

determined  to  devote  at  least  an  hour  to 
forming  the  acquaintance  of  this  most  won 
derful  and  cosmopolitan  city. 


213 


CHAPTER  EIGHTEEN 

A  NARROW  ESCAPE 

THE  Auditorium  Tower,  where  "the 
weather  man  "  sits  to  flash  his  re 
ports  throughout  the  country,  offered  an 
inviting  place  for  the  boy  to  alight.  He 
dropped  quietly  upon  the  roof  of  the  great 
building  and  walked  down  the  staircase 
until  he  reached  the  elevators,  by  means  of 
which  he  descended  to  the  ground  floor 
without  exciting  special  attention. 

The  eager  rush  and  hurry  of  the  people 

crowding  the  sidewalks  impressed  Rob  with 

the  idea  that  they  were  all  behind  time  and 

were  trying  hard  to  catch  up.      He  found 

214 


A  NA  RRO  W  ESCAPE 

it  impossible  to  walk  along  comfortably 
without  being  elbowed  and  pushed  from 
side  to  side;  so  a  half  hour's  sight-seeing 
under  such  difficulties  tired  him  greatly.  It 
was  a  beautiful  afternoon,  and  finding  him 
self  upon  the  Lake  Front,  Rob  hunted  up 
a  vacant  bench  and  sat  down  to  rest. 

Presently  an  elderly  gentleman  with  a  re 
served  and  dignified  appearance  and  dressed 
in  black  took  a  seat  next  to  the  boy  and 
drew  a  magazine  from  his  pocket.  Rob  saw 
that  he  opened  it  to  an  article  on  "The 
Progress  of  Modern  Science,"  in  which 
he  seemed  greatly  interested. 

After  a  time  the  boy  remembered  that  he 
was  hungry,  not  having  eaten  a  tablet  in 
more  than  twenty-four  hours.  So  he  took 
out  the  silver  box  and  ate  one  of  the  small, 
round  disks  it  contained. 

' '  What  are  those  ? ' '  inquired  the  old  gen 
tleman  in  a  soft  voice.  "  You  are  too 
young  to  be  taking  patent  medicines." 

"  These  are  not  medicines,  exactly,"  an- 
215 


THE  MA  S  TER  KE1 


swered  the  boy,  with  a  smile.  "They  are 
Concentrated  Food  Tablets,  stored  with 
nourishment  by  means  of  electricity.  One 
of  them  furnishes  a  person  with  food  for  an 
entire  day." 

The  old  gentleman  stared  at  Rob  a  mo 
ment  and  then  laid  down  his  magazine  and 
took  the  box  in  his  hands,  examining  the 
tablets  curiously. 

"Are  these  patented?"   he  asked. 

"No,"  said  Rob;  "they  are  unknown 
to  any  one  but  myself." 

"I  will  give  you  a  half  million  dollars 
for  the  recipe  to  make  them,"  said  the  gen 
tleman. 

"  I  fear  I  must  refuse  your  offer,"  re 
turned  Rob,  with  a  laugh.- 

"I'll  make  it  a  million,"  said  the  gentle 
man,  coolly. 

Rob  shook  his  head. 

"  Money  can't  buy  the  recipe,"  he  said; 
"  for  I  don't  know  it  myself." 


216 


A  NARROW  ESCAPE 

"Couldn't  the  tablets  be  chemically  an 
alyzed,  and  the  secret  discovered?"  in 
quired  the  other. 

"  I  don't  know;  but  I'm  not  going  to 
give  any  one  the  chance  to  try,"  declared 
the  boy,  firmly. 

The  old  gentleman  picked  up  his  maga 
zine  without  another  word,  and  resumed  his 
reading. 

For  amusement  Rob  took  the  Record  of 
Events  from  his  pocket  and  began  looking 
at  the  scenes  reflected  from  its  polished 
plate. 

Presently  he  became  aware  that  the  old 
gentleman  was  peering  over  his  shoulder 
with  intense  interest.  General  Funston 
was  just  then  engaged  in  capturing  the 
rebel  chief,  Aguinaldo,  and  for  a  few  mo 
ments  both  man  and  boy  observed  the  oc 
currence  with  rapt  attention.  As  the  scene 
was  replaced  by  one  showing  a  secret  tun 
nel  of  the  Russian  Nihilists,  with  the  con- 


217 


THE  MA  S  TER  KEY 


spirators  carrying  dynamite  to  a  recess 
underneath  the  palace  of  the  Czar,  the  gen 
tleman  uttered  a  long  sigh  and  asked: 

"Will  you  sell  that  box?" 

"  No,"  answered  Rob,  shortly,  and  put 
it  back  into  his  pocket. 

"  I'll  give  you  a  million  dollars  to  con 
trol  the  sale  in  Chicago  alone,"  continued 
the  gentleman,  with  an  eager  inflection  in 
his  smooth  voice. 

"  You  seem  quite  anxious  to  get  rid  of 
money,"  remarked  Rob,  carelessly.  "How 
much  are  you  worth?" 

"  Personally?" 

"Yes." 

"  Nothing  at  all,  young  man.  I  am  not 
offering  you  my  own  money.  But  with 
such  inventions  as  you  have  exhibited  I 
could  easily  secure  millions  of  capital.  Sup 
pose  we  form  a  trust,  and  place  them  upon 
the  market.  We'll  capitalize  it  for  a  hun 
dred  millions,  and  you  can  have  a  quarter 
of  the  stock — twenty-five  millions.  That 
218 


A  NARROW  ESCAPE 

would  keep  you  from  worrying  about  groc 
ery  bills." 

"  But  I  wouldn't  need  groceries  if  I  had 
the  tablets,"  said  Rob,  laughing. 

"  True  enough!  But  you  could  take  life 
easily  and  read  your  newspaper  in  comfort, 
without  being  in  any  hurry  to  get  down 
town  to  business.  Twenty-five  millions 
would  bring  you  a  cozy  little  income,  if 
properly  invested." 

"  I  don't  see  why  one  should  read  news 
papers  when  the  Record  of  Events  shows 
all  that  is  going  on  in  the  world,"  objected 
Rob. 

"  True,  true!  But  what  do  you  say  to 
the  proposition?" 

"  I  must  decline,  with  thanks.  These 
inventions  are  not  for  sale." 

The  gentleman  sighed  and  resumed  his 
magazine,  in  which  he  became  much  ab 
sorbed. 

Rob  put  on  the  Character  Marking  Spec 
tacles  and  looked  at  him.  The  letters  "E," 
219 


THE  MASTER  KET 

"W"  and  "C"  were  plainly  visible  upon 
the  composed,  respectable  looking  brow  of 
his  companion. 

6 'Evil,  wise  and  cruel,"  reflected  Rob, 
as  he  restored  the  spectacles  to  his  pocket. 
"  How  easily  such  a  man  could  impose 
upon  people.  To  look  at  him  one  would 
think  that  butter  wouldn't  melt  in  his 
mouth!" 

He  decided  to  part  company  with  this 
chance  acquaintance  and,  rising  from  his 
seat,  strolled  leisurely  up  the  walk.  A 
moment  later,  on  looking  back,  he  discov 
ered  that  the  old  gentleman  had  disap 
peared. 

He  walked  down  State  Street  to  the 
river  and  back  again,  amused  by  the  activity 
displayed  in  this  busy  section  of  the  city. 
But  the  time  he  had  allowed  himself  in  Chi 
cago  had  now  expired,  so  he  began  looking 
around  for  some  high  building  from  the  roof 
of  which  he  could  depart  unnoticed. 

This  was  not  at  all  difficult,  and  selecting 
220 


A  NA  RRO  W  ES CA PE 

one  of  many  stores  he  ascended  by  an 
elevator  to  the  top  floor  and  from  there 
mounted  an  iron  stairway  leading  to  the  flat 
roof.  As  he  climbed  this  stairway  he  found 
himself  followed  by  a  pleasant  looking 
young  man,  who  also  seemed  desirous  of 
viewing  the  city  from  the  roof. 

Annoyed  at  the  inopportune  intrusion, 
Rob's  first  thought  was  to  go  back  to  the 
street  and  try  another  building;  but,  upon 
reflecting  that  the  young  man  was  not  likely 
to  remain  long  and  he  would  soon  be  alone, 
he  decided  to  wait.  So  he  walked  to  the 
edge  of  the  roof  and  appeared  to  be  inter 
ested  in  the  scenery  spread  out  below  him. 

"  Fine  view  from  here,  ain't  it?"  said 
the  young  man,  coming  up  to  him  and 
placing  his  hand  carelessly  upon  the  boy's 
shoulder. 

"  It  is,  indeed,"  replied  Rob,  leaning 
over  the  edge  to  look  into  the  street. 

As  he  spoke  he  felt  himself  gently  but 
firmly  pushed  from  behind  and,  losing  his 

221 


THE  MA  S  TER  KE  T 

balance,  he  plunged  headforemost  from  the 
roof  and  whirled  through  the  intervening 
space  toward  the  sidewalk  far  below. 

Terrified  though  he  was  by  the  sudden 
disaster,  the  boy  had  still  wit  enough  re 
maining  to  reach  out  his  right  hand  and 
move  the  indicator  of  the  machine  upon  his 
left  wrist  to  the  zero  mark.  Immediately 
he  paused  in  his  fearful  flight  and  presently 
came  to  a  stop  at  a  distance  of  less  than  fif 
teen  feet  from  the  flagstones  which  had 
threatened  to  crush  out  his  life. 

As  he  stared  downward,  trying  to  recover 
his  self-possession,  he  saw  the  old  gentle 
man  he  had  met  on  the  Lake  Front  stand 
ing  just  below  and  looking  at  him  with  a 
half  frightened,  half  curious  expression  in 
his  eyes. 

At  once  Rob  saw  through  the  whole  plot 
to  kill  him  and  thus  secure  possession  of  his 
electrical  devices.  The  young  man  upon 
tile  roof  who  had  attempted  to  push  him  to 
his  death  was  a  confederate  of  the  innocent 

223 


A  NARROW  ESCAPE 

appearing  old  gentleman,  it  seemed,  and 
the  latter  had  calmly  awaited  his  fall  to  the 
pavement  to  seize  the  coveted  treasures  from 
his  dead  body.  It  was  an  awful  idea,  and 
Rob  was  more  frightened  than  he  had  ever 
been  before  in  his  life — or  ever  has  been 
since. 

But  now  the  shouts  of  a  vast  concourse  of 
amazed  spectators  reached  the  boy's  ears. 
He  remembered  that  he  was  suspended  in 
mid-air  over  the  crowded  street  of  a  great 
city,  while  thousands  of  wondering  eyes 
were  fixed  upon  him. 

So  he  quickly  set  the  indicator  to  the  word 
uup,"  an'd  mounted  sky-ward  until  the 
watchers  below  could  scarcely  see  him. 
Then  he  fled  away  into  the  east,  even  yet 
shuddering  with  the  horror  of  his  recent 
escape  from  death  and  filled  with  disgust  at 
the  knowledge  that  there  were  people  who 
held  human  life  so  lightly  that  they  were 
willing  to  destroy  it  to  further  their  own 
selfish  ends. 

223 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

"And  the  Demon  wants  such  people  as 
these  to  possess  his  electrical  devices,  which 
are  as  powerful  to  accomplish  evil  when  in 
wrong  hands  as  they  are  good!  "  thought 
the  boy,  resentfully.  "This  would  be  a 
fine  world  if  Electric  Tubes  and  Records  of 
Events  and  Traveling  Machines  could  be 
acquired  by  selfish  and  unprincipled  per 
sons!  " 

So  unnerved  was  Rob  by  his  recent  ex 
periences  that  he  determined  to  make  no 
more  stops.  However,  he  alighted  at 
nightfall  in  the  country,  and  slept  upon  the 
sweet  hay  (in  a  farmer's  barn. 

But,  early  the  next  morning,  before  any 
one  else  was  astir,  he  resumed  his  journey, 
and  at  precisely  ten  o'clock  of  this  day, 
which  was  Saturday,  he  completed  his  flying 
trip  around  the  world  by  alighting  unob 
served  upon  the  well-trimmed  lawn  of  his 
own  home. 


CHA PTER  NINE  TEEN 

ROB  MAKES  A  RESOLUTION 

WHEN  Rob  opened  the  front  door 
he  came  face  to  face  with  Nell, 
who  gave  an  exclamation  of  joy  and  threw 
herself  into  his  arms. 

"Oh,  Rob!"  she  cried,  "I'm  so  glad 
you've  come.  We  have  all  been  dreadfully 
worried  about  you,  and  mother — " 

"Well,  what  about  mother?"  inquired 
the  boy,  anxiously,  as  she  paused. 

"  She's  been  very  ill,  Rob;  and  the  doc 
tor  said  to-day  that  unless  we  heard  from 
you  soon  he  would  not  be  able  to  save  her 


225 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

life.     The  uncertainty  about  you  is  killing 
her." 

Rob  stood  stock  still,  all  the  eager  joy  of 
his  return  frozen  into  horror  at  the  thought 
that  he  had  caused  his  dear  mother  so  much 
suffering. 

"  Where  is  she,  Nell?"  he  asked,  brok 
enly. 

"  In  her  room.  Come;  I'll  take  you  to 
her." 

Rob  followed  with  beating  heart,  and 
soon  was  clasped  close  to  his  mother's 
breast. 

"  Oh,  my  boy — my  dear  boy!'.'  she  mur 
mured,  and  then  for  very  joy  and  love  she 
was  unable  to  say  more,  but  held  him  tight 
and  stroked  his  hair  gently  and  kissed  him 
again  and  again. 

Rob  said  little,  except  to  promise  that  he 
would  never  again  leave  home  without  her 
full  consent  and  knowledge.  But  in  his 
mind  he  contrasted  the  love  and  comfort 
that  now  surrounded  him  with  the  lonely 
226 


ROB  MAKES  A  RESOLUTION 

and  unnatural  life  he  had  been  leading  and, 
boy  though  he  was  in  years,  a  mighty  reso 
lution  that  would  have  been  creditable  to 
an  experienced  man  took  firm  root  in  his 
heart. 

He  was  obliged  to  lecount  all  his  adven 
tures  to  his  mother  and,  although  he  made 
light  of  the  dangers  he  had  passed  through, 
the  story  drew  many  sighs  and  shudders 
from  her. 

When  luncheon  time  arrived  he  met  his 
father,  and  Mr.  Joslyn  took  occasion  to  re 
prove  his  son  in  strong  language  for  run 
ning  away  from,  home  and  leaving  them 
filled  with  anxiety  as  to  his  fate.  How 
ever,  when  he  saw  how  happy  and  im 
proved  in  health  his  dear  wife  was  at  her 
boy's  return,  and  when  he  had  listened 
to  Rob's  manly  confession  of  error  and  ex 
pressions  of  repentance,  he  speedily  forgave 
the  culprit  and  treated  him  as  genially  as 
ever. 

Of  course  the  whole  story  had  to  be  re- 
227 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

peated,  his  sisters  listening  this  time  with 
open  eyes  and  ears  and  admiring  their  ad 
venturous  brother  immensely.  Even  Mr. 
Joslyn  could  not  help  becoming  profoundly 
interested,  but  he  took  care  not  to  show 
any  pride  he  might  feel  in  his  son's  achieve 
ments. 

When  his  father  returned  to  his  office  Rob 
went  to  his  own  bed-chamber  and  sat  for  a 
long  time  by  the  window  in  deep  thought. 
When  at  last  he  aroused  himself,  he  found 
it  was  nearly  four  o'clock. 

"The  Demon  will  be  here  presently,"  he 
said,  with  a  thrill  of  aversion,  "and  I  must 
be  in  the  workshop  to  receive  him." 

Silently  he  stole  to  the  foot  of  the  attic 
stairs  and  then  paused  to  listen.  The  house 
seemed  very  quiet,  but  he  could  hear  his 
mother's  voice  softly  humming  a  cradle- 
song  that  she  had  sung  to  him  when  he  was 
a  baby. 

He  had  been  nervous  and  unsettled  and 
a  little  fearful  until  then,  but  perhaps  the 
228 


ROB  MAKES  A  RESOLUTION 

sound  of  his  mother's  voice  gave  him  cour 
age,  for  he  boldlv  ascended  the  stairs  and 
entered  the  workshop,  closing  and  locking 
the  door  behind  him. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY 

THE  UNHAPPY  FATE  OF  THE  DEMON 

AGAIN  the  atmosphere  quickened  and 
pulsed  with  accumulating  vibrations. 
Again  the  boy  found  himself  aroused  to 
eager  expectancy.  There  was  a  whirl  in 
the  air;  a  crackling  like  distant  musketry; 
a  flash  of  dazzling  light — and  the  Demon 
stood  before  him  for  the  third  time. 

"  I  give  you   greetings!'1    said  he,  in  a 
voice  not  unkindly. 

"Good    afternoon,    Mr.    Demon,"    an 
swered  the  boy,  bowing  gravely. 

"  I  see   you    have   returned  safely  from 
your  trip,"  continued  the  Apparition,  cheer- 
230 


UNHAPPT  FA  TE  OF  THE  DE 


fully,  "although  at  one  time  I  thought 
you  would  be  unable  to  escape.  Indeed, 
unless  I  had  knocked  that  tube  from  the 
rascally  Turk's  hand  as  he  clambered  to  the 
top  of  the  wall,  I  believe  you  would 
have  been  at  the  Yarkand  oasis  yet  —  either 
dead  or  alive,  as  chance  might  determine." 

"  Were  you  there?  "  asked  Rob. 

"  To  be  sure.  And  I  recovered  the  tube 
for  you,  without  which  you  would  have  been 
helpless.  But  that  is  the  only  time  I  saw 
fit  to  interfere  in  any  way." 

"I'm  afraid  I  did  not  get  a  chance  to  give 
many  hints  to  inventors  or  scientists,"  said 
Rob. 

"  True,  and  I  have  deeply  regretted  it," 
replied  the  Demon.  "  But  your  unusual 
powers  caused  more  astonishment  and  con 
sternation  than  you,  perhaps,  imagined; 
for  many  saw  you  whom  you  were  too  busy 
to  notice.  As  a  result  several  able  electri 
cians  are  now  thinking  new  thoughts  along 
new  lines,  and  some  of  them  may  soon 

231 


THE  MASTER  KET 

give  these  or  similar  inventions  to  the 
world." 

"You  are  satisfied,  then?"  asked  Rob. 

"As  to  that,"  returned  the  Demon,  com 
posedly,  "  I  am  not.  But  I  have  hopes 
that  with  the  addition  of  the  three  marvel 
ous  devices  I  shall  present  you  with  to-day 
you  will  succeed  in  arousing  so  much  popu 
lar  interest  in  electrical  inventions  as  to 
render  me  wholly  satisfied  with  the  result 
of  this  experiment." 

Rob  regarded  the  brilliant  apparition 
with  a  solemn  face,  but  made  no  answer. 

"No  living  person,"  continued  the  De 
mon,  "  has  ever  before  been  favored  with 
such  comforting  devices  for  the  preservation 
and  extension  of  human  life  as  yourself. 
You  seem  quite  unappreciative,  it  is  true; 
but  since  our  connection  I  have  come  to 
realize  that  you  are  but  an  ordinary  boy, 
with  many  boyish  limitations;  so  I  do  not 
condemn  your  foolish  actions  too  harshly." 


232 


UNHAPPT FA  TE  OF  THE  DEMON 

"•That  is  kind  of  you,"  said  Rob. 

"  To  prove  my  friendliness,"  pursued 
the  Demon,  "  I  have  brought,  as  the  first 
of  to-day's  offerings,  this  Electro-Magnetic 
Restorer.  You  see  it  is  shaped  like  a  thin 
metal  band,  and  is  to  be  worn  upon  the 
brow,  clasping  at  the  back  of  the  head. 
Its  virtues  surpass  those  of  either  the  fabu 
lous  'Fountain  of  Youth,'  or  the  'Elixir 
of  Life,'  so  vainly  sought  for  in  past  ages. 
For  its  Wearer  will  instantly  become  free 
from  any  bodily  disease  or  pain  and  will 
enjoy  perfect  health  and  vigor.  In  truth, 
so  great  are  its  powers  that  even  the  dead 
may  be  restored  to  life,  provided  the  blood 
has  not  yet  chilled.  In  presenting  you  with 
this  appliance,  I  feel  I  am  bestowing  upon 
you  the  greatest  blessing  and  most  longed- 
for  boon  ever  bequeathed  to  suffering  hu 
manity." 

Here  he  held  the  slender,  dull-colored 
metallic  band  toward  the  boy. 


233 


THE  MASTER  RE) 


4 'Keep  it,"  said  Rob. 

The  Demon  started,  and  gave  him  an 
odd  look. 

"  What  did  you  say?"  he  asked. 

"  I  told  you  to  keep  it,"  answered  Rob. 
"  I  don't  want  it." 

The  Demon  staggered  back  as  if  he  had 
been  struck. 

"  Don't  want  it!"  he  gasped. 

"  No;  I've  had  enough  of  your  infernal 
inventions!"  cried  the  boy,  with  sudden 
anger. 

He  unclasped  the  traveling  machine 
from  his  wrist  and  laid  it  on  the  table  beside 
the  Demon. 

"  There's  the  thing  that's  responsible  for 
most  of  my  troubles,"  said  he,  bitterly. 
"  What  right  has  one  person  to  fly  through 
the  air  while  all  his  fellow-creatures  crawl 
over  the  earth's  surface?  And  why  should 
I  be  cut  off  from  all  the  rest  of  the  world 
because  you  have  given  me  this  confounded 
traveling  machine?  I  didn't  ask  for  it,  and 

234 


UNHAPPY  FATE  OF  THE  D  EAT  ON 

I  won't  keep  it  a  moment  longer.    Give  it  to 
some  one  you  hate  more  than  you  do  me! " 

The  Demon  stared  aghast  and  turned  his 
glittering  eyes  wonderingly  from  Rob  to  the 
traveling  machine  and  back  again,  as  if  to 
be  sure  he  had  heard  and  seen  aright. 

"And  here  are  your  food  tablets,"  con 
tinued  the  boy,  placing  the  box  upon  the 
table.  "  I've  only  enjoyed  one  square  meal 
since  you  gave  them  to  me.  They're  all 
right  to  preserve  life,  of  course,  and  answer 
the  purpose  for  which  they  were  made;  but 
I  don't  believe  nature  ever  intended  us  to 
exist  upon  such  things,  or  we  wouldn't  have 
the  sense  of  taste,  which  enables  us  to  enjoy 
natural  food.  As  long  as  I'm  a  human 
being  I'm  going  to  eat  like  a  human  being, 
so  I've  consumed  my  last  Electrical  Con 
centrated  Food  Tablet — and  don't  you  for 
get  it!  " 

The  Demon  sank  into  a  chair,  nerveless 
and  limp,  but  still  staring  fearfully  at  the 
boy. 

235 


THE  MASTER  KET 

"And  there's  another  of  your  unnatural 
devices,"  said  Rob,  putting  the  Automatic 
Record  of  Events  upon  the  table  beside  the 
other  things.  "What  right  have  you  to 
capture  vibrations  that  radiate  from  private 
and  secret  actions  and  discover  them  to 
others  who  have  no  business  to  know  them? 
This  would  be  a  fine  world  if  every  body 
could  peep  into  every  one  else's  affairs, 
wouldn't  it?  And  here  is  your  Character 
Marker.  Nice  thing  for  a  decent  person  to 
own,  isn't  it?  Any  one  who  would  take  ad 
vantage  of  such  a  sneaking  invention  as  that 
would  be  worse  than  a  thief!  Oh,  I've  used 
them,  of  course,  and  I  ought  to  be  spanked 
for  having  been  so  mean  and  underhanded; 
but  I'll  never  be  guilty  of  looking  through 
them  again." 

The  Demon's  face  was  frowning  and 
indignant.  He  made  a  motion  to  rise,  but 
thought  better  of  it  and  sank  back  in  his 
chair. 


236 


UNHA  PPT  FA  TE  OF  THE  DEMON 

"As  for  the  Garment  of  Protection,"  re 
sumed  the  boy,  after  a  pause,  "  I've  worn 
it  for  the  last  time,  and  here  it  is,  at  your 
service.  I'll  put  the  Electric  Tube  with  it. 
Not  that  these  are  such  very  bad  things  in 
themselves,  but  I'll  have  none  of  your  mag 
ical  contrivances.  I'll  say  this,  however:  if 
all  armies  were  equipped  with  Electrical 
Tubes  instead  of  guns  and  swords  the  world 
would  be  spared  a  lot  of  misery  and  un 
necessary  bloodshed.  Perhaps  they  will  be, 
in  time;  but  that  time  hasn't  arrived  yet." 

"  You  might  have  hastened  it,"  said  the 
Demon,  sternly,  "  if  you  had  been  wise 
enough  to  use  your  powers  properly." 

"  That's  just  it,"  answered  Rob.  "  I'm 
not  wise  enough.  Nor  is  the  majority  of 
mankind  wise  enough  to  use  such  inven 
tions  as  yours  unselfishly  and  for  the  good 
of  the  world.  If  people  were  better,  and 
every  one  had  an  equal  show,  it  would  be 
different." 


237 


THE  MASTER  KE1 


For  some  moments  the  Demon  sat  quietly 
thinking.  Finally  the  frown  left  his  face 
and  he  said,  with  animation: 

"  I  have  other  inventions,  which  you  may 
use  without  any  such  qualms  of  conscience. 
The  Electro-Magnetic  Restorer  I  offered 
you  would  be  a  great  boon  to  your  race, 
and  could  not  possibly  do  harm.  And,  be 
sides  this,  I  have  brought  you  what  I  call 
the  Illimitable  Communicator.  It  is  a  sim 
ple  electric  device  which  will  enable  you, 
wherever  you  may  be,  to  converse  with 
people  in  any  part  of  the  world,  without  the 
use  of  such  crude  connections  as  wires.  In 
fact,  you  may" — 

"  Stop!  "  cried  Rob.  "  It  is  useless  for 
you  to  describe  it,  because  I'll  have  nothing 
more  to  do  with  you  or  your  inventions.  I 
have  given  them  a  fair  trial,  and  they've  got 
me  into  all  sorts  of  trouble  and  made  all  my 
friends  miserable.  If  I  was  some  high-up 
scientist  it  woul<v  be  different;  but  I'm  just 


238 


UNHAPPY  FA  TE  OF  THE  D EATON 

a  common  boy,  and  I  don't  want  to  be  any 
thing  else." 

"  But,  your  duty — "'  began  the  Demon. 

"  My  duty  I  owe  to  myself  and  to  my 
family,"  interrupted  Rob.  "  I  have  never 
cultivated  science,  more  than  to  fool  with 
some  simple  electrical  experiments,  so  I  owe 
nothing  to  either  science  or  the  Demon  of 
Electricity,  so  far  as  I  can  see." 

"  But  consider,"  remonstrated  the  De 
mon,  rising  to  his  feet  and  speaking  in  a 
pleading  voice,  "  consider  the  years  that 
must  elapse  before  any  one  else  is  likely  to 
strike  the  Master  Key!  And,  in  the  mean 
while,  consider  my  helpless  position,  cut 
off  from  all  interest  in  the  world  while  I 
have  such  wonderful  inventions  on  my 
hands  for  the  benefit  of  mankind.  If  you 
have  no  love  for  science  or  for  the  advance 
ment  of  civilization,  do  have  some  consider 
ation  for  your  fellow-creatures,  and  for 
me!" 


239 


THE  MASTER  KET 

"  If  my  fellow-creatures  would  have  as 
much  trouble  with  your  electrical  inventions 
as  I  had,  I  am  doing  them  a  service  by  de 
priving  them  of  your  devices,"  said  the 
boy.  "As  for  yourself,  I've  no  fault  to  find 
with  you,  personally.  You're  a  very  de 
cent  sort  of  Demon,  and  I've  no  doubt  you 
mean  well;  but  there's  something  wrong 
about  our  present  combination,  I'm  sure. 
It  isn't  natural." 

The  Demon  made  a  gesture  of  despair. 

"  Why,  oh  why  did  not  some  intelligent 
person  strike  the  Master  Key!"  he  moaned. 

"  That's  it!"  exclaimed  Rob.  "I  be 
lieve  that's  the  root  of  the  whole  evil." 

"  What  is  ?"  inquired  the  Demon,  stu 
pidly. 

"  The  fact  that  an  intelligent  person  did 
not  strike  the  Master  Key.  You  don't  seem 
to  understand.  Well,  I'll  explain.  You're 
the  Demon  of  Electricity,  aren't  you?" 

"  I  am,"  said  the  other,  drawing  him 
self  up  proudly. 

240 


UN  HA  PPT  FA  TE  OF  THE  DEMON 

"  Your  mission  is  to  obey  the  commands 
of  whoever  is  able  to  strike  the  Master  Key 
of  Electricity." 

"That  is  true." 

"  I  once  read  in  a  book  that  all  things 
are  regulated  by  exact  laws  of  nature.  If 
that  is  so  you  probably  owe  your  existence 
to  those  laws."  The  Demon  nodded. 
"  Doubtless  it  was  intended  that  when 
mankind  became  intelligent  enough  and  ad 
vanced  enough  to  strike  the  Master  Key, 
you  and  all  your  devices  would  not  only  be 
necessary  and  acceptable  to  them,  but  the 
world  would  be  prepared  for  their  general 
use.  That  seems  reasonable,  doesn't  it?  " 

"  Perhaps  so.  Yes*  it  seems  reason 
able,"  answered  the  Demon,  thoughtfully. 

"Accidents  are  always  liable  to  happen," 
continued  the  boy.  ' ' By  accident  the  Master 
Key  was  struck  long  before,  the  world  of 
science  was  ready  for  it — or  for  you.  In 
stead  of  considering  it  an  accident  and  pay 
ing  no  attention  to  it  you  immediately  ap- 
241 


THE  MASTER  KEY 

peared  to  me — a  mere  boy — and  offered 
your  services." 

"I  was  very  anxious  to  do  something," 
returned  the  Demon,  evasively.  "  You've 
no  idea  how  stupid  it  is  for  me  to  live  in 
visible  and  unknown,  while  all  the  time  I 
have  in  my  possession  secrets  of  untold 
benefit  to  the  world." 

"  Well,  you'll  have  to  keep  cool  and  bide 
your  time,"  said  Rob.  "The  world  wasn't 
made  in  a  minute,  and  while  civilization  is 
going  on  at  a  pretty  good  pace,  we're  not 
up  to  the  Demon  of  Electricity  yet." 

"What  shall  I  do!  "  groaned  the  Appari 
tion,  wringing  his  hands  miserably;  "oh, 
what  shall  I  do!  " 

"  Go  home  and  lie  down,"  replied  Rob, 
sympathetically.  "Take  it  easy  and  don't 
get  rattled.  Nothing  was  ever  created  with 
out  a  use,  they  say;  so  your  turn  will  come 
some  day,  sure!  I'm  sorry  for  you,  old  fel 
low,  but  it's  all  your  own  fault." 

"You  are  right!  "  exclaimed  the  Demon, 
242 


UNHAPPY  FATE  OP  THE  DEMON 

striding  up  and  down  the  room,  and  caus 
ing  thereby  such  a  crackling  of  electricity  in 
the  air  that  Rob's  hair  became  rigid  enough 
to  stand  on  end.  "You  are  right,  and  I 
must  wait — wait — wait — patiently  and  si 
lently — until  my  bonds  are  loosed  by  intel 
ligence  rather  than  chance!  It  is  a  dreary 
fate.  But  I  must  wait — I  must  wait — I 
must  wait! " 

"  I'm  glad  you've  come  to  your  senses," 
remarked  Rob,  drily.  "  So,  if  you've  noth 
ing  more  to  say—" 

"  No!  I  have  nothing  more  to  say.  There 
is  nothing  more  to  say.  You  and  I  are 
two.  We  should  never  have  met!"  re 
torted  the  Demon,  showing  great  excite 
ment. 

"  Oh,  I  didn't  seek  your  acquaintance," 
said  Rob.  "  But  I've  tried  to  treat  you  de 
cently,  and  I've  no  fault  to  find  with  you 
except  that  you  forgot  you  were  a  slave  and 
tried  to  be  a  master." 

The  Demon  did  not  reply.     He  was  bus- 

243 


THE  MA  S  TER  KET 

ily  forcing  the  various  electrical  devices  that 
Rob  had  relinquished  into  the  pockets  of  his 
fiery  jacket. 

Finally  he  turned  with  an  abrupt  move 
ment. 

"Good-by!"  he  cried.  "  When  mortal 
eyes  next  behold  me  they  will  be  those  of 
one  fit  to  command  my  services!  As  for 
you,  your  days  will  be  passed  in  obscurity 
and  your  name  be  unknown  to  fame.  Good- 
by, — forever!" 

The  room  filled  with  a  flash  of  white  light 
so  like  a  sheet  of  lightning  that  the  boy 
went  reeling  backwards,  half  stunned  and 
blinded  by  its  dazzling  intensity. 

When  he  recovered  himself  the  Demon 
of  Electricity  had  disappeared. 

#  *  *  -x-  * 

Rob's  heart  was  very  light  as  he  left  the 
workshop  and  made  his  way  down  the  attic 
stairs. 

"  Some  people  might  think  I  was  a  fool  to 
give  up  those  electrical  inventions,"  he  re- 
244 


UNHAPPY  FA  TE  OF  THE  DEMON 

fleeted;  "but  I'm  one  of  those  persons  who 
know  when  they've  had  enough.  \\  strikes 
me  the  fool  is  the  fellow  who  can't  learn  a 
lesson.  I've  learned  mine,  all  right.  It's 
no  fun  being  a  century  ahead  of  the  times!  " 


245 


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